LOS ANGELES LAKERS: While coach Mike D’Antoni was not exactly enamored of Kobe Bryant’s Game 1 tweet-a-thon, he might want to take some of Mamba’s advice. The Lakers need to play through Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol on every possession, which will lead to more baskets, more free throws and allow them to set their defense, which can be adequate in the half-court but is horrendous in transition. The bench needs to pick it up as well, and soon. I don’t like them going home in an 0-2 hole.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: In the immediate aftermath, no Game 1 loser should have felt better than the Warriors – until they got the bad news on Lee, which tremendously compromises their flexibility. All season, Golden State’s best lineup was a smaller unit featuring Lee at center and three guards. Now it appears resigned to staying big with Andrew Bogut at center, who had some impact down the stretch. Maybe the Warriors can flip the script and force the Nuggets to play big and slow, not their strong suit but perhaps their only option.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: They are my best bet to get Game 2 on the road, simply because the Grizzlies are a mentally tough group that doesn’t rattle and relies on the tried-and-true postseason formulas of defense and post play. Much was made of the inability of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol (combined six rebounds) to control the backboards, but a bigger issue may have been how badly they were outplayed at small forward, where they got next to nothing from playoff-tested Tayshaun Prince. Expect Randolph and Gasol to pick it up. If Prince joins them, this will be the longest – and best – first-round series.
TRIVIA: Damian Lillard led all rookie with five 30-point games. Who was second? Answer below.
THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: At exit day for the Philadelphia 76ers, center Kwame Brown, who had not played since Feb. 20, saw some reporters waiting for him and ran away, out of the building.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, prior to his team’s postseason opener:
“I’m nervous for summer league games, so why wouldn’t I be nervous for this game?”
LINE OF THE WEEK: Andre Miller, Denver vs. Golden State, April 20: 27 minutes, 11-16 FGs, 1-1 3-pointers, 5-7 FTs, three rebounds, five assists, one steal, two turnovers, 28 points in a 97-95 win. Miller scored 18 of Denver’s 26 fourth-quarter points, including the game-winning layup with 1.2 seconds to play. Think about where the Nuggets would be had they lost: no Danilo Gallinari, no Kenneth Faried and facing a must-win game after their aura of invincibility at home had just been shattered.
LINE OF THE WEAK: Luol Deng, Chicago at Brooklyn, April 20: 38 minutes, 3-11 FGs, 0-2 3-pointers, 0-3 FTs, two rebounds, three assists, one block, one turnover, six points in a 106-89 loss. Deng’s lack of production for a team badly in need of scoring was only part of the problem. He also allowed Gerald Wallace – who was suffering from a crisis of confidence that saw him score 14 total points in April – break loose for 14 points in Game 1.
TRILLION WATCH: There were several trillions as the postseason got under way, but the only one with a crooked number was the 2 trillion from Atlanta forward Anthony Tolliver at Indiana on Sunday. Honorable mention to Boston’s Jordan Crawford, who grabbed a rebound to avoid a sparkling 11 trillion, and New York’s Steve Novak, who fouled to avoid a 5 trillion, both on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Boston at New York, April 23. All Game 2’s have inherent intrigue, because it is where the most game-to-game adjustments are made in a best-of-seven series. And the extremely proud Celtics have plenty of adjustments to make, especially on offense. Meanwhile, the Knicks are in highly unfamiliar territory, leading a series for the first time in 12 years.
TWO MINUTES: ESPN’s Bill Simmons was absolutely right Wednesday night when he said the Bobcats are so bad that they don’t even know how to lose correctly. Charlotte won its last three games to match its longest winning streak of the season and – coupled with Orlando’s three-game skid – went from a virtual lock for the worst record to second-worst, “behind” the Magic. That untimely ascension cost the Bobcats 51 extra chances out of 1,000 to win the lottery and snag Nerlens Noel, a desperately needed defensive backstop. It is unlikely that Charlotte will be conveyed Portland’s first-round pick, which is top-12 protected, and its second-round pick belongs to Oklahoma City. … In the first half of their playoff opener, the Nets outscored the 
Bulls in the paint, 40-8. … When Linsanity swept across the NBA last season, it didn’t carry into the playoffs because Jeremy Lin suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the postseason. That made Sunday in Oklahoma City Lin’s playoff debut, which was not exactly Lindelible. In 32 minutes, he was 1-of-7 from the field, back-rimming almost all of his jumpers and making poor decisions with the ball that resulted in four turnovers. On defense, he was overwhelmed by Russell Westbrook and gambled often, earning a scolding from Rockets coach Kevin McHale during one third-quarter timeout. … On Tuesday in Atlanta, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan took his position of shooting guard a bit too literally. He took 17 shots and had one rebound, no assists, no steals and no blocks. … On April 7, the Jazz held a half-game lead over the Lakers for the West’s final playoff spot with four games to play. Over those four games, forward Paul Millsap scored in double digits once, averaging 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 14-of-35 from the field and 3-of-6 from the line. Utah went 2-2, gave away the eighth seed and missed the playoffs. It is unlikely Utah will keep both Millsap and Al Jefferson, who are among the club’s nine free agents this summer. Millsap’s finish may clinch the Jazz’s decision. … Brothers Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombings, are graduates of Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School, which also produced Hollywood hotshots Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and former NBA players Patrick Ewing and Rumeal Robinson and. … In much better news involving brothers, two sets of siblings played in an NBA game for the first time Wednesday when Philadelphia’s Jrue and Justin Holiday faced Indiana’s Tyler and Ben Hansbrough. However, the quartet never was on the floor at the same time because Jrue Holiday was replaced by his brother with 2:44 left in the first quarter and did not return. … Denver took a franchise-record 23-game home winning streak into the postseason and extended it with its narrow win over Golden State in Game 1. According to Elias, the previous four teams to enter the playoffs with a home winning streak of at least 21 games – the 1988-89 Pistons (21 games), the 1986-87 Celtics (29), the 1985-86 Celtics (31) and the 1949-50 Minneapolis Lakers (27) – all reached the Finals, and only the 1986-87 Celtics did not win the title.
Trivia Answer: Chris Copeland with two. … Happy 45th Birthday, Bimbo Coles. … I really hope someone will shorten New Orleans’ new nickname to the ‘Cans.
Chris Bernucca is the deputy editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.