The good news for the Spanish national team is that they won’t have to contend with the gold medal favorites unless they make it to the gold medal game itself. By losing an 88-82 heartbreaker to Brazil the Spaniards assured themselves of a route to the final game that won’t cross paths with the United States.

The bad news is that Spain has dropped two in a row and has yet to look anything like a team poised to push Team USA should a gold medal rematch be in the cards.

You can seemingly set your watch to a Spanish meltdown in London. In their last three contests the Spaniards have blown 4^th quarter leads and today was no different.

Potential Lakers target Leandro Barbosa lit it up dropping 20 of his 23 points in the second half including a clutch 10 points in the final frame. That would be more than enough to help Brazil erase the 10-point deficit they faced entering the final quarter.

While some are already questioning Spain’s effort or perceived lack thereof both Pau and Marc Gasol put in work for their country. The brothers Gasol combined for 45 points on 16 of 21 shooting. Mix in a healthy 14 from Serge Ibaka off the bench and you should have had enough to beat Brazil.

Too bad for the aforementioned members of the Spanish team but they were the only ones that put in a full day’s work. No one else cracked double figures and no one else shot over 50% for Spain.

Overall it was a flat effort that has Pau worried about what’s coming next as the knockout rounds begin.

“The way we’re playing right now, anybody could beat us.”

Both Brazil and Spain will advance however so not all is lost for the Spanish medal hopes. Brazil enters a South American derby with Argentina next while Spain gets a date with France in the quarterfinals.

With the way things are going it seems unlikely that we’ll see the U.S. vs. Spain game we all had penciled in. Then again, we could just be seeing an experienced team that is bored with the group stage play. Spain just might flip the switch now that it’s single elimination time. Let’s face, they’ve got no other choice at the moment.

Fact of the matter is this isn’t 2010 anymore. That would be the last time these two teams tangled in the postseason. The Lake Show prevailed, going on to wear the NBA crown that season but it was by no means any easy series. OKC pushed the Lakers like it was the Western Finals instead of a first round 1-8 matchup.

L.A. escaped in six but the warning signs were there. We all knew the day would come when it would be the Lakers standing in the way of the Thunder instead of the other way around.

Well…here we are. That day has arrived and the only real question is which Laker team made the trip to Oklahoma City?

If it’s the inspired group that showed up Saturday against Denver and made an appearance when these two met at the end of the regular season then this will be a real battle. However if it’s the disinterested team that took the first round to the full seven games then things will get ugly in a hurry.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City has about every type of player that gives the Lakers problems.

There’s a speedy and athletic point guard in Russell Westbrook. An active and feisty forward in Serge Ibaka. And, of course, there’s a dynamic scorer to in Kevin Durant who gives every NBA defense fits.

With the exception of Durant, the Lakers faced similar player types against Denver and we know how that went. Problem is the OKC versions are upgrades. Westbrook is Ty Lawson with more size and is a better defender. Ibaka is JaVale McGee with a more rounded offensive game and a better defensive presence.

Mix in the NBA’s best sixth man in James Harden and the Lakers have all kinds of reasons to zone-up every so often.

But this isn’t all one-way traffic.

Defending Kobe Bryant is about as easy as Andrew Bynum thinks close-out games are. KB24 continued his vintage efforts in the first round dropping nearly 30 a night against Denver.

Beyond Kobe the Thunder also has to deal with L.A.’s twin towers. Forget what you’ve heard about the Kendrick Perkins effect. That is hype. While Perkins is a very good low-post defender his absence is not why the Lakers beat the Celtics in Game 7 two years ago and his presence in Oklahoma isn’t going to be the reason why Bynum and Pau Gasol are neutralized.

No doubt Perkins will make the Laker bigs work for every point they get. Still, if Drew and the Spaniard play with that playoff intensity we long for they’ll make Perkins an after thought.

And with that we introduce the dreaded if word.

You just don’t know which team Mike Brown will put on the court tonight. When the Lakers play with that Metta World Peace inspired intensity they’re a tough out. If the juices are still flowing from Game 7 then expect an old school playoff grind tonight.

Should they allow the Thunder to jump out early and control the pace then you’d better be prepared for more Magic Johnson hyperbole. Either way the real key to a Laker victory is giving the effort of a champion. Everything else falls in place when the team, as a whole, is engaged and energetic. Allowing the Thunder to strike first and run away with Game 1 could set an ugly precedent. If it’s the Lakers that take one in OKC then the series will take on a much different feel as the younger squad will be sent scrambling back to the drawing board.

I’m thinking this one won’t be anything like the Lakers last appearance in the second round. If Bynum is tearing his shirt off on the court this time around it had better be a homage to Man City’s thrilling victory on Sunday and not because he’s authored another chapter in maturity saga. I’m thinking the former will hold true as my money is on Bynum taking a big step forward this series.