Gazing At Game Two...Can K-D Come Back?

Originally Published: Apr 19, 2010 6:12 PM CDTI watched Kevin Durant struggle through the Thunders opening-game loss to the Lakers Sunday.&#160; I listened to the

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 1:22 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Apr 19, 2010 6:12 PM CDT

I watched Kevin Durant struggle through the Thunders opening-game loss to the Lakers Sunday.  I listened to the experts tell me that Ron Artest did a great job defensively and scoffed at that notion.  Durant just missed several open shots that he hits regularly hits 8 out of 10 times.  The stat line was not pretty for K-D.  24 points, but on 7 of 24 shooting, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range.  He also turned the ball over 4 times.I decided to alleviate the fears of Thunder fans everywhere and take a look back at the first career playoff game for some of the NBAs biggest stars.  I figured, surely, someone else struggled in his postseason debut.Heres what I found: Kobe Bryant was a non-factor for the Lakers in his debut.  19-year-old Kobe was little-used as a rookie anyway.  His opening-game playoff stat line of 2 points in 1 minute of play in an 18-point win over the Trailblazers was underwhelming at best.  Cheer up Thunder fans, Kobes 4 title rings are proof that that sometimes it takes time. LeBron James could not have been better.  In the first game of the 2006 playoffs the king became the just the third player ever to post a triple-double in his first career playoff game.  21-year-old (same as Durant currently) LeBron delivered 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Cavaliers 97 to 86 win over the Wizards.  Okay, hes a freak.  Lets cancel that comparison.In 2007, Magic star Dwight Howard was predictably good in his first playoff game.  Superman scored 13 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.  But, alas, his Magic lost to the Pistons.The best first-game comparison that I could find for Durant was Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony.  In the opening game of the 2004 playoffs, a 19-year-old Melo scored 19 points on 6 of 17 shooting as the Nuggets lost to the Timberwolves.  Lets hope, for Thunder fans, that the comparison stops there because it got worse for Melo.  He finished the series 21 of 64 from the floor, including 2 points on 1 for 6 from the floor in the final game.  The Nuggets were beaten in 4 games (first round series were only best of 5 back then) by the T-Wolves.  What does all of this mean for Durant and the Thunder?  Nothing.  Sundays game was just one game in what is going to be a brilliant career for Durant.  In my opinion, what bodes well for the Thunder as we move toward game two is that It does not take them long to learn from their mistakes.    I still believe L-A will win game two, but it will be closer and require some squirming on their p