I love the Lakers. So much so that I stay up until the wee hours of the morning to watch them play anybody - even the Clippers.

I always think they can win the title, no matter who's hurt, or who's playing like their fourth mistress is ready to spill the beans to TMZ.

I've seen a lot of Lakers games this season. I've also taken in my fair share of Oklahoma City Thunder games in 2009-10, and it's no surprise, to me, at least, that the first round series between the two teams has been so tight the first two games.

Even though the Lakers are up, 2-0, you get the feeling this series could swing at any time.

Here are some reasons I think this series still has a long way to go before being decided.

-L.A. refuses to run its offense through Pau Gasol
The Lakers win 8 of 10 games Gasol is in the lineup because he's such a versatile, skilled big man. But he's only averaging 14 shots a game through the first two. That number should be at around 18-20 if the Lakers want to win this series and a title. No team in the league has a player who can match up with Gasol.

-Russell Westbrook
The second-year converted point guard will continue to eat 35-year-old Derek Fisher alive until Lakers coach Phil Jackson decides to put someone else on him. This has been going on the last couple seasons. Fisher can't stay in front of young, fast guards. I'd hate to see what happens to him should Utah beat Denver and meet up with the Lakers in the first round.

-The Thunder defense is severely underrated
They don't have names that jump out at you on defense like Dwight Howard, Josh Smith or Gerald Wallace, but Oklahoma City's defense this season has stayed ranked in the top 10 in every major category. The Thunder has held the Lakers more than 10 points under their season average so far this series at 91/game. That number is seven less that what Oklahoma City gave up during the regular season.

-The Lakers bench has been bad
Lamar Odom going back to his sixth man role should boost L.A.'s bench, which has been about as productive as a quadriplegic on "Dancing With the Stars." But OKC hasn't been able to take advantage of this...yet.

That story about the kid who was supposedly stuck in a hot air balloon all day yesterday was insane.

We came to find out a lot about him and his family. The family - from Colorado - has appeared on the reality TV show "Wife Swap." They believe in aliens and named the kid Falcon. During an interview with CNN, the boy said "you told me to do this for the show." The parents home school their kids. And, from the looks of that balloon, they loved Jiffy Pop when they were younger.

I wouldn't trust that thing enough to step foot inside it even if there was a briefcase inside it with a million dollars in it.

I also wouldn't trust these teams to go very far this season.

The Hot N Ready Division

25. Indiana Pacers
I feel for Danny Granger. Granger is a fabulous player who's gotten better (scoring averages of 7.5, 13.9, 19.6 and 25.8 in each of his four years in the league) in each of his four seasons in the NBA. Granger has earned his $10,130,500 salary. But the rest of the team is junk. Three other highest-paid players on the squad are Troy Murphy ($11,047,619 in 2009-10), T.J. Ford ($8,500,000) and Mike Dunleavy ($9,780,992). Those three guys have played in a combined total of 16 playoff games - all by Ford in his time in Milwaukee and Toronto. Their starting center (7'2" Roy Hibbert) has shown signs of life this preseason, but things aren't looking up for the Pacers. As an aside, this team has more white guys who will play major roles than an episode of "Entourage."

24. New York Knicks
Hmmm...Derrick Rose, or Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson? I bet Mike D'Antoni wishes he took the Bulls job now. He probably cries every time Eddy Curry walks into practice. As a basketball coach, your prospects don't look so hot when you're starting center's butt is wider than the back of a '74 Eldorado.

23. Charlotte Bobcats
For the last couple years, I've had this idea of how the league could be better if six teams were contracted. The Bobcats are always at the top of that list. Charlotte isn't a good place for pro basketball. If it was, the Hornets would still be there. The Bobcats have some nice pieces (D.J. Augustin, Gerald Wallace, Gerald Henderson) and Tyson Chandler will add more of a defensive presence than Emeka Okafor (traded to New Orleans for Chandler) ever did. But those pieces don't mesh well. When you constantly have high draft picks, you get guys who don't necessarily know how to play a role. They just wanna "get theirs." Could you see three movies being made in the "Ocean's 11" series if Matt Damon and Don Cheadle walked on the set and turned into the Dudley Boyz on George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

The Sonic/Chik-Fil-A Division

22. Oklahoma City Thunder
OKC is a team on the come up. They have one of the five best scorers in the NBA in Kevin Durant (25.3 ppg, .476 field goals, .422 3-pt field goals in 2008-09). The Thunder also has a dynamic point guard in Russell Westbrook and a solid all-around player in Jeff Green. If things break right, Oklahoma City could sneak into the playoffs and serve as a sacrificial lamb for the Lakers or Spurs. Realistically, they'll be more fun to watch than those cop chase shows and miss the playoffs.

21. Los Angeles Clippers
Look at how scary good the Clips starting five is: Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman. That's easily one of those most talented starting fives in the league. Want to see something even scarier? MIKE DUNLEAVY is their coach!!!! Dunleavy routinely does less with more with the greatest of ease. In 16 years as a coach, he's 592-688, good for a .463 winning percentage. In those 16 years, he's made seven playoff appearances. In six years in L.A., he's 194-298, with one playoff appearance. How he's still employed is beyond me. He must have pictures of Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a Jonas Brother or something.

Part III coming Monday