Tonight: LeBron's team will try to erase the backlog in the series against ambitious Portland • The Bucks want to close an account with Orlando, which surprised in Game 1 • Tonight: Indiana - Miami

• LeBron struggled with Lillard. The threat to the Lakers is palpable

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Although the NBA playoffs are in their infancy, there is already a feeling that something big is happening in a bubble in Orlando. It started with 57 points from Donovan Mitchell - the third-best display in playoff history, and continued with the loss of the East and West firsts (Milwaukee and LA Lakers) in the opening game of the eighth-ranked series - something that had only happened once before (in 2003). 

LA Lakers - Portland (1: 0 in the series, 4 p.m., Sports 5). After surrendering 100: 93 to the fiery Portland, the Lakers will advance to Game 2 tonight when they can not afford another fall and need Anthony Davis mainly because LeBron James did his job (23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists). 

Davis suffered a weak shooting west (8 of 24 from the field), forced shots from outside the arc (0 of 5 from three) and half distance, instead of playing inside and putting the Blazers' highs (rotation of only eight players) into a foul problem. "Portland are very good. There's a reason they're in the playoffs, it's not a surprise. We have to start scoring because we got the shots we want," Davis said after his team scored just five 3-pointers at 15.6 percent.   

The thing is, Portland was not even at its best, and managed to take the first and most important step on the way to a surprise in the series - to win the first game. "From the moment we got into the bubble, every game was like a playoff game for us. It's one win, from now on it will be harder, but I'm not afraid of a mental decline. I know my team," said Damian Lillard (34 points in the first game). By the way, Charles Barkley, learning disappointments in the playoffs, is sure "it's going to end in a sweep." 

Milwaukee - Orlando (1: 0 in the series, 1 p.m.). Yannis Antocompo is the best player in the league, probably also the defensive player of the season, but is that the player you want to be dependent on in the last quarter with your team behind? Judging by the loss to Magic (122: 110) the answer is: not sure. 

Although Yannis finished with tremendous numbers (31, 17 rebounds and 7 assists), he failed to take control of the final quarter, unlike Nikola Wojciech. "We have to play a lot harder and be aggressive," said the Greek-freak, who will try to finish the game tonight as early as the third quarter - just as he likes.

More tonight: Indiana - Miami (1: 0 in the series, 20:00, Sports 5), Houston - Oklahoma City (0: 1, 22:30).