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Thunder on the mountain, and there's fires on the moon
A ruckus in the alley and the sun will be here soon
Today's the day, where I'm gonna grab my trombone and blow
Well, there's hot stuff here and it's everywhere I go
- Bob Dylan, Thunder on the Mountain

Are the Lakers vulnerable? Are they as good as last year's team? Is this team on the ropes?

Seems like a lot of buzz lately surrounding our team centers on us being on the brink.

Last time I checked, we locked up the No. 1 seed in the West, a conference in which every playoff team won at least 50 games.

Yes, injuries haven't helped. A lot of guys (including myself) have been sidelined for varying lengths during the season.

Now, we face a team in the Oklahoma City Thunder that is hungry and features one of the league's brightest youngest stars in Kevin Durant ...

Let's go!

We had a spirited and intense practice on Friday. Kobe went all out, focused as ever and if you're wondering how his injuries will impact him in this series, I've learned from playing with the guy for the past seven years that nothing holds him back, not in the regular season and certainly not in the postseason.

We received a nice lift from Andrew Bynum who practiced for the first time on Friday. He looked good. He hadn't been on the court since mid to late March and from what I saw, he played pain free. No effects from his strained left Achilles' tendon.

No doubt he'll be effective for us. I'm not worried about his conditioning based on what I saw.

What Durant does is amazing. He's long. He can handle the ball, hit jump shots all over the court. No doubt, he's going to be one of the best players in the league for next 10 years. With any great scorer, there is always a way to stop them from something they like to do. Not the case with Durant because he can score in many different way whether it's in a set offense or fast break.

Ron will be up to the challenge of guarding him. It will be a great match up. What's cool about Ron is that he doesn't have to score to be effective. He's hungry for the ring, he's focused. He hears the talk about Trevor leaving and how he's replaced him and all that. Nothing less than a championship is acceptable in his mind (and ours).

The Thunder are a speed team and they remind me of our match up against the Suns in the playoffs from a couple of years ago. The key in playing a team like that is establishing the tempo, run the offense, maintaining team balance.

When you rush shots or take bad shots, it allows them to get out on the fast break and they're off to the races.

The Thunder come in this series with zero playoff experience. Is that good or bad? Well, that can work both ways. They can either be fearless and not really absorb the magnitude of the playoffs; or the lack of experience can show in how they handle the pressure on and off the court, especially with all of the demands from the media.

The lack of experience didn't hurt the Warriors from upsetting the Mavs a few years ago yet I thought that last season Orlando was hurt by not having played in the Finals before. You could tell they didn't know what to expect in certain situations.

So it can go either way.

I'm feeling as well I have for a long time. I hated missing games. Back pain is tricky because you can really do a number on it if you try to rush your recovery/return. I know my dad, who has suffered his share of excruciating pain and gone through a few surgeries, wanted me to take my time in returning. The last thing he wanted was for me to experience the miserable pain he's suffered the last few years. It's a father's love for his son. I know that and certainly appreciate it. At the same time you want to be out there on the court, contributing. It's a real fine line.

Sunday -- noon -- can't come fast enough.