LOS ANGELES LAKERS v DENVER NUGGETS
Prediction: 4-2 LAKERS

The Los Angeles Lakers finally have a team, post-Shaq, that has a huge chance of winning an NBA championship. The Lakers are a squad fully loaded with talent, and clutch, on two positions vital to any team’s success. With a strong bench to back up an already strong starting five, they look to take it all the way this season, as the favorites in the West. It IS still, and will be for a long time, Kobe’s Lakers, barring any injury to the superstar of this team. The difference this year? He now has a strong belief in the skills and mindset of his teammates, unlike a year ago. And with that, his team rubs off on that aura of faith, and should be a big reason for their post-season success this year.

The Nuggets, on the other hand, had to go through one of the toughest 8th seed races in history with the loser being the winningest team not to have made the playoffs. Too bad for the Warriors. Now Melo and AI look to make a lot of noise in the playoffs, and I believe they are the darkhorse in the West along with the Hornets . Many people discount the fact that Denver has two of the most potent scorers in the league side by side, and they are both in the top 5 in scoring this year (if I’m not mistaken). Add a supporting cast that has peaked right when the regular season ended, they are indeed a very dangerous team to go up against in the first round.

Surprisingly, the series has the Lakers up 3 to zip, with only one game decided by less than 10 points. The Nuggets have been blown out! And what’s even more glaring is the fact that in all those games, Pau Gasol was never in a Laker uniform! Each of the 3 wins featured 3 different starting centers, Kwame, Bynum, and Chris Mihm! I would never have thought the Lakers could manhandle the Nuggets without Gasol, and I’m sure alot of people are as surprised. So how does Gasol do against the Nuggets, we will see very soon. I’d like to think that Pau is better than those 3 centers combined, and that could be very bad news for Denver.

Lakers Season Summary:
Kobe Bryant is the heart and soul of the Los Angeles Lakers. When the Lakers chose Kobe to be the cornerstone of their franchise and did away with Shaq, they definitely made the right decision. Kobe has led the Lakers to successful seasons post-Shaq, even when the odds were stacked against him, with very mediocre players around him. He still found a way to win.

What’s different this season? A LOT. The trade that brought Pau Gasol in from Memphis completed the final piece of the Laker championship puzzle. Even without Pau, the Lakers were doing amazing with Bynum coming into his own. But a severe injury forced the big man to sit out the remainder of the regular season, and gave the Lakers more reason to find a center that could bring them all the way. And who better else to bring in than Gasol. The Lakers now have 4 solid, consistent players up front, with Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher helping the Kobe-Pau tandem. The 5th option of Vlade Radmanovic gives them a huge threat from the outside especially when Pau posts up.

It is almost impossible to stop the Lakers with Pau posting, Kobe slashing and especially when he hits his threes, and with Lamar doing everything else necessary, as well as Fisher’s leadership in the point. What’s new? The bench isn’t, but their poise and heart is. With a renewed vigor and confidence, Farmar, Walton, Vujacic, and even the injured Ariza and Bynum, will be amazing off the bench this post-season. The Nuggets couldn’t have faced a worse team to play in the first round, but then again, they’re lucky enough to be in it, so they are coming in with nothing to lose.

Nuggets Season Summary:
Considering the Nuggets are in the playoffs, that should be a good thing. Considering the amount of talent they have on this squad and to have BARELY made it to the post-season, isn’t. Having two of the best scorers in the league is indeed a luxury, but all season long, the Nuggets have underachieved. At the start of the season, the Nuggets were poised to be one of the top teams in the West, with their bench getting stronger, and AI and Melo finally getting to play the entire season together. But it all was for naught.

Are the Nuggets dangerous? There is no question about it. If Melo and AI click together then have JR Smith come off the bench and deliver the way he has in the last 8 games of the season, my my, the Lakers will be in trouble. Marcus Camby, in my opinion, IS the DPOY, not KG. No other big man has the kind of stats that he delivers on a nightly basis in terms of rebounds, steals, and blocks, not to mention presence in the middle. Add the solid K-Mart in the starting five, with Kleiza and JR Smith coming off the bench, the Nuggets rampaged through the end of the regular season and peaked at the right time. This series, outside of the 3-0 regular season history it has, should be one of the better fought series in the first round. I know I might be swallowing my words, but Melo and AI are different in the playoffs. The question on whether everyone else will be at that level is what we will find out in 2 days.

MATCHUPS:

POINT GUARD: DEREK FISHER v ANTHONY CARTER
Fisher is a veteran point guard, a solid leader, a great shooter in pressure, and an unbelievably tough defender. In the regular season, Iverson has averaged a horrible percentage on the floor against the Lakers because of Fish’s tenacity, and it looks like it will be another rough ride come series tip-off. I see Fisher doing exactly what he did to Baron Davis last season to Iverson, and he is key to stopping the Nuggets offense. He will also be counted on to drain those high-arching long bombs to deflate the constant Nugget runs.

Anthony Carter started off the season a fantasy stud, averaging a ton of assists a game, as well as rebounds and steals. He has since tapered off dramatically and has ended up being the usual mediocre point guard that he was. He is still a good pure point guard to run the offense, but that’s about it. If the Nuggets want any kind of post-season success past the first round, Carter needs to be more aggressive and let the point guard chores go to him instead of AI. If he can’t do that, George Karl might even be forced to play AI at point and JR Smith at shooting guard for more options.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

SHOOTING GUARD: KOBE BRYANT v ALLEN IVERSON
Kobe is this year’s MVP. Everyone can talk about Lebron and Chris Paul, but Bryant has deserved this title since 2 seasons ago. Leading the Lakers with 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 dimes a game, only Lebron and a handful of others have those kinds of numbers. He has been the heart and soul of this squad, and is the go-to-guy on every single important possession. I don’t see Kobe shying away from anything anymore this post-season, and with the addition of Pau, life is going to be much easier for him now. He doesn’t have to score 40 points for the Lakers to win, even if he can. He doesn’t have to carry the entire load either, as he has a great team built around him this season. Kobe is going to enjoy the playoffs this year, and hopefully, the people and officials in the league recognize that it is about time to deservedly give him the MVP trophy.

Will the real AI please stand up Allen Iverson has made his tandem with Carmelo Anthony a stress-free one. You would never think two players who score more than 25 points a game each can play beautiful music together. Now here is a perfect example. AI has molded his game to adjust to Melo’s, and has in turn made himself a much better all-around player. Being surrounded by better talent also helps, so AI is averaging quite a few assists more this year than when he was with the 76ers. But more than that, it has always been his heart that has captivated people to him, and his strength of character amidst a myriad of problematic injuries, that has made Allen Iverson the icon that he is. Against the Lakers, he needs to shoot a much better percentage though for the Nuggets to stand any chance at all of getting past the first round. His steals numbers will always be exemplary, but he needs to find a way to be the decoy for this team to succeed against the Lakers.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

SMALL FORWARD: LAMAR ODOM v CARMELO ANTHONY
Odom has always been the jack of all trades. Even when he was a rookie with the Clippers, the potential to his game had already been seen. This year, he has come to age and has been a very consistent player for the Lakers. He is averaging a double-double this year, and is more than capable of getting a triple double every single night. He needs to have a more offensive mindset though, as he clearly has the skills to score. The problem is, he can go into a game attempting just 4 shots, which is a bad pitfall for him because if he scores, it makes life so much easier for everyone else. Lamar can defend, shoot the three, drive the ball, rebound, pass, steal, and block shots, and is a nightmare matchup for any team because of his length and his height. It will be a good challenge to see how he does against Melo, who has been scoring pretty darn well in the 3 regular season games against them.

Melo has always been criticized of having the ball in his hands too much. And with AI in the same team, they both can’t be accused of the same thing right? Haha. So since scoring is a given, Melo is averaging a career high in rebounds this year. With him crashing the boards, he has helped the Nuggets be one of the better rebounding teams in the league. Anthony will be counted on to take on the brunt of the scoring as I’m sure the opponents of the Nuggets have finally figured out, that focusing the main defense on Anthony is the wrong thing to do. Those who have done so have suffered the consequence of having AI torch them to the ground. Melo will always get his points, and needs to play more of a leadership role for them to have a chance in the series. He needs to do what AI has been doing, driving, and being as aggressive as possible, and not just stick to shooting jumpers all night long. If he does that, they will be in big trouble.
ADVANTAGE: NUGGETS

POWER FORWARD: VLADIMIR RADMANOVIC v KENYON MARTIN
Vlade’s coming out party will be in this year’s playoffs. I’m afraid to say that again because he might disappear and have Walton take over the starting five, but I dare to say this playoff series to be different. He should be getting his chances at shooting at least 6 threes a game, and if he makes majority of those, there is no way the Nuggets can win. Vlade has an amazing stroke and is really an unguardable shot with how high he shoots it. He is also an under-rated passer and rebounder, but just needs to get his head in the game. That has always been his problem. If he gets his screws tight enough, he may see a part of himself he has never seen before this post-season.

I’m thinking if there is a better success story this year than that of K-Mart. Coming off injuries that could have cost him his career, he has come back with a vengeance! K-Mart is back to his old self, and is going to be huge for the Nuggets in this series. If he can play well, and consistently hit those mid-range jumpers, the Lakers will have a hard time playing this Nugget offense. And from the 2 games he has played against the Lakers, he has averaged very good numbers. His defense and hustle should be integral to the Nuggets success as well as his percentage from the line. I wouldn’t want to see K-Mart on the charity stripe with the game on the line though, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to happen in this series… mark my words
ADVANTAGE: NUGGETS

CENTER: PAU GASOL v MARCUS CAMBY
Oh Pau, Pau, Pau, how lucky are thee. Pau Gasol must be the happiest player in the NBA to have been traded to the Lakers. Having left that god-awful Memphis franchise, he has finally been put on a team where his skills will be maximized and he, as a player, will finally matter. Gasol will now be able to experience what it’s like to be in the playoffs, and be side-by-side with one of the greatest players in the game. Pau will be huge in this series, and should be a nightmare for Camby to guard. He should be able to get Camby in foul trouble, and once that happens, it will take a huge monumental effort for Najera or Martin to come in and contain him.

Camby has been one lucky stud this season, having played practically the whole season injury free. He is also one, if not the only, center in the league right now, who can achieve a triple double with blocks as the third category. And I will go as far as saying that he is the ONLY player in the league capable of having a quadruple double. That is testament to how complete a player Marcus Camby is, and if he can play to the potential he is capable of in this series, the Lakers will have a hard time penetrating into this Nugget defense. Camby plays very well against the Lakers, though he has never faced Paul Gasol yet. And in those games he has played, he has averaged great numbers on all categories. The only game he wasn’t as good was when he scored a goose egg, but hauled down 20 rebounds. He doesn’t really need to score, but he should in this series, for the Nuggets to stand a chance.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS

BENCH: Sasha and the Gang v JR Smith/Linas Kleiza
Sasha and the Gang sounds like a band doesn’t it? And Sasha does look like a rockstar with his hair now hehe. I say the gang, because the ENTIRE Laker bench can produce and can deliver. All their bench players have value up to the 10th guy. Let’s see, there’s Farmar, Walton, and Turiaf, for the guys who aren’t injured. For those who are, there’s Ariza and Bynum, who may come off the bench very soon for the Lakers. You can put any 4 of those guys off the bench with Kobe, and they would still be a playoff team you would dread to face in the first round. Vujacic comes off the bench like he’s Kyle Korver or Peja Stojakovic. He shoots more threes than he does two’s and drains quite a good percentage of them. His partner Farmar does the same thing except plays point guard and drives the offense. Turiaf is solid on defense and may be a good option to stop the Nugget offense from time to time. Walton will be his usual all-around self, and that’s about it for the competition.

The Nuggets have two main guys off the bench that can kill you. Linas Kleiza scored 41 points against a defensive minded Jazz squad, and JR Smith has been on fire the past 8 games of the regular season. Both are potent scorers and can score in bunches. The offense has been amazing for these 2, with Kleiza tapering off a bit in the latter stages of the regular season. JR Smith has been unbelievable lately, and he can score at will in the smallest amount of time possible. He has had the best points per minute value for the Nuggets for quite a while now, and will be the KEY to the Nuggets first round series. If Smith can get it going right away, and bother Kobe with his pesky D, the Lakers are going to have a big shootout coming.

The key for the Lakers here is that if they can stop either Melo or AI, they have already won half the battle. The second part is getting the Nuggets bench to be a non-factor. Smith comes off the bench and ignites the Nuggets offense, then everything starts going from there. If the Lakers can find a way to make both Smith and Kleiza useless, then I can go as far as saying that this can be a sweep. But I find it hard to imagine that they would be able to do that. AI and Melo should be playing huge together in the series. So I predict, 4-2 for the Lakers, keeping in mind that if both Melo and AI play great and Smith comes off the bench and lights up the Lakers, then we’d be in for a great first round matchup. I think this should be the 2nd best first round series to watch, with the Suns-Spurs matchup being the hands-down 1st.
ADVANTAGE: LAKERS