The NBA Playoffs are underway and the Los Angeles Lakers are ready to go. To win the legendary NBA Title, a team needs 16 wins in the playoffs… how hard can that possibly be? Obviously, a lot harder than we thought!

The Lakers finished the regular season with the #1 seed in the Western Conference and were assigned the task of taking on the eighth seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round. With the Lakers winning all three of the regular season games between the two teams, most Laker fans were happy to see the Nuggets.

The Denver Nuggets have plenty of amazing fans, but one of them is quite special. One Nuggets fan takes the time everyday, sometimes a few times a day, to report on the team’s status and everything that has to do with the franchise. The NuggDoctor has put together a great recap of the game and explains that the Nuggets were only alive for the first half.

This game was quite exciting in the 1st half as the momentum shifted back and forth. The Lakers came out big early, took a ten point lead, and things were looking good, up until the last few minutes of the 1st quarter. As the 2nd quarter opened, the Lakers had a four point lead and soon were in a deep hole. The Denver Nuggets continued to push the tempo of the game and took an eight point lead midway through the quarter.

The Los Angeles Lakers were out to show why they were #1 though. Pau Gasol led the Lakers back into the game and LA took a two point lead heading into halftime. Lamar Odom contributed big time as well while Kobe Bryant struggled to make his jump shot. He went 2-10 in the 1st half.

The 2nd half was underway and the Lakers were ready to make their case proving to the world why they were seeded #1. The entire team was mentally and physically prepared as they opened the game and outscored the Nuggets by 17 in the third quarter. The team’s offense was great, but the team’s defense was that much better.

Once again, in the 4th quarter, the Denver Nuggets made a push to get back in the game, but Kobe Bryant would have nothing of it and took over when the team needed him. Bryant scored 18 points in the 4th quarter finishing with 32 for the game.

Pau Gasol truly deserves a lot of credit for this game though. He made his free throws, 8-8, he made his layups, he got the rebounds, he played the defense, he passed the ball… he did everything we could possibly have asked for. 36 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists. I’d say that’s a solid game.

Game 2 is on Wednesday and I look forward to seeing what the Los Angeles Lakers have in store for us fans.

Wow this has been an incredible game so far. The Los Angeles Lakers opened the game with a strong first quarter taking a 10 point lead and then the Denver Nuggets made a quick run to close the quarter and close the lead to four. With the 2nd quarter starting, the Nuggets were still pushing the momentum they built at the end of the 1st and turned the game around giving the Nuggets an 8 point lead.

The time that the game seemed to turn was when the Nuggets starting playing zone defense. Obviously, the matchups kill the Nuggets as the team defense struggles and especially with all the size advantages the Lakers have. Either way, the Nuggets lead didn’t last very long as the Lakers pushed hard to finish the 1st half and take a 2 point lead at the break.

At the half, the stat line was already pretty incredible. Lamar Odom had an amazing first half but the talk of the game was really just the superb play of Pau Gasol. They brought Gasol in before the trade deadline hoping he can be the ultimate fit with the triangle offense, turnes out, Mitch Kupchak was correct! Pau Gasol was well on his way to a triple double having already reach double digits in scoring, having nearly 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kobe Bryant struggled with his shooting only making two out of ten shots, but the Lakers showed off how they play team ball and maintained control of the game throughout every point.

The second half will be quite interesting to watch but I don’t see the game coming down to the wire. It seems like as soon as Iverson sat down, the team started to struggle. With Allen Iverson getting tired in the 2nd half and not being able to push it all game long, i don’t see the Denver Nuggets keeping up.

LA Ball Talk prediction: Lakers blow the game open by about 15 in the 3rd quarter and cruise to the finish line.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom knows the top eight teams in Western Conference are fairly evenly matched.

The final regular-season standings support that premise.

“The eighth seed could have been the first seed. The second seed could have been the seventh seed,” Odom said Saturday after the Lakers completed preparations for their first-round matchup with the Nuggets. “Everybody was kind of shocked that Golden State beat Dallas (in the first round last spring). I don’t think we’ll have that this year.”Every team is highly qualified. Ever since I started watching basketball, I can’t remember a race this tight.”

The Lakers earned the top seed in the West by winning eight of their final nine games, giving them 57 victories. Five other teams in the West had at least 54 wins, and the Nuggets earned the eighth spot by winning 50 games for the first time in 20 years.

“A team that’s won 50 games and is the eighth seed, I think that’s remarkable,” Lakers star Kobe Bryant said.

Game 1 will be played Sunday at Staples Center, where the Lakers have a 15-2 record against the Nuggets since the arena opened in 1999. The second game will be played Wednesday night before the best-of-seven series shifts to Denver.

“We had a great year,” Odom said. “The year is over. We have to win some games and advance.”

The Lakers haven’t won a playoff series since 2004, when Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal led them to the NBA Finals. O’Neal was traded a month after that, and it’s been a struggle until this season.

“We have a lot of confidence,” said Bryant, who appears to be in line for his first MVP award. “We have some experience as well. We’re ready to go.

“We just have to move the ball. We’re a great team when everybody’s moving and cutting.” The blossoming of center Andrew Bynum gave the Lakers a different look early in the season, but Bynum hasn’t played since injuring his left knee Jan. 13. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Bynum would not return against the Nuggets.

“I’d say it’s fair to say that,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times.

The Lakers got a huge boost Feb. 1 when they acquired Pau Gasol from Memphis. They’re 22-5 with the 7-foot Spaniard in their lineup, prompting Nuggets coach George Karl to call Gasol the second-most important addition to an NBA team this season, behind Boston’s Kevin Garnett.

But Karl and his team realize everything starts and ends with Bryant.

“There are going to be times when he’s going to command a lot of attention, and we definitely have to find a way to keep the ball out of his hands,” said Nuggets center Marcus Camby, the NBA defensive player of the year last season.

“It’s always a team effort guarding a superstar,” Denver’s Eduardo Najara said. “We have to put the best defenders on him. But at the same time, everybody’s got to be ready to help and make sure we get beat by everybody else instead of Kobe.”

Defense isn’t generally a priority for Denver, which ranked second in the NBA in scoring but next-to-last in points allowed. Usually, the freewheeling Nuggets win by outscoring their opponents, and they certainly have the weapons in Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, who rank third and fourth, respectively, in scoring in the NBA — right behind Bryant.

There’s firepower from several other directions as well.

“Their productivity’s been really high,” Jackson said.

“They’re a real quick-hit type of team. We’ve got to do a job. We won’t curtail our guys from getting up and down the court. We have to know what are good shots and what aren’t in the transition game.

“The Lakers were 3-0 against the Nuggets during the regular season, but the teams haven’t played since Jan. 21.

“We have to come out 10 times more focused than we were in the regular season,” Anthony said. “It’s 0-0 now. We know what they are about. At the same time, we have to go out there and stop them.”

The Nuggets have been eliminated 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs each of the last four years.

“Hopefully it will be different this year,” Karl said. “This year, we’re coming in relatively healthy. Nene’s the only guy lingering right now, but hopefully he can come back soon. We’re a more balanced team, a more together team.

“I think that if we turn the light switch on and tape it on, we’ll be fine.”

Karl will be facing his son, Coby, a seldom-used rookie with the Lakers.

“I would never have thought at the beginning of the year that this would be the case,” the younger Karl said. “I’m one of his biggest fans, and he’s one of my biggest fans. At this point, it’s business.

“I’m sure I’ll talk to him plenty. Maybe we won’t talk for a couple days. You love your family, you want to see them succeed, but not at your expense.”

At this point, it’s ‘Go Lakers!’”