The Lakers finished up the Nuggets on Monday Night in Denver. Kobe Bryant stuffed the stat sheet with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Pau Gasol also had a really solid game with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots. Lamar Odom pitched in with 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. The Lakers won this series 4-0 and they now await the winner of the Jazz-Rockets series.

The Lakers played great defense yesterday as they held the Nuggets to 37.2% shooting from the floor which trumped the fact that the Nuggets outrebounded the Lakers 53-39. Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Luke Walton was outstanding in 24 minutes off the bench as he finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Pau Gasol pitched in with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocked shots Derek Fisher also had a decent game as he finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. The Lakers are now up 3-1 in this series.

The Lakers dominated the Nuggets on Wednesday Night thanks to the fact that they shot 50.5% from the floor. Kobe Bryant had a game for the ages as he finished with 49 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists on 18 of 27 shooting from the floor! Pau Gasol also had a solid game as he finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. Luke Walton had a very solid game off the bench with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in only 29 minutes. The Lakers are now up 2-0 in this series as it shifts to Denver.

The Lakers blasted the Nuggets 39-22 in the third quarter and they shot 50% from the floor which were the two biggest reasons for the win. Pau Gasol had an amazing game for the Lakers today. He shot 14 of 20 from the floor and finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocked shots. Kobe only shot 9 for 26 from the floor but he finished with 32 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Lamar Odom stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Luke Walton was impressive in 27 minutes off the bench as he finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. The Lakers are now up 1-0 in this series.

This is not your run of the mill #1 vs. #8 seed matchup as these are both very good basketball teams. Here’s a closer look at the matchups:

POINT GUARD: Anthony Carter finally got a starting job and he’s definately a pass-first point guard. He played in 70 games (67 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he averaged 7.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Lucky for him that the Lakers don’t depend on their point guard for much offense.

Derek Fisher is the Lakers’ starting point guard and he’s a shoot first type who has a lot of playoff experience. Fisher played in 82 games (all starts) for the Lakers this season and he averaged 11.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Carter better stay close to Fisher on defense because he’s a very clutch shooter.

EDGE: LAKERS

SHOOTING GUARD: This will be a very fun matchup to watch. Allen Iverson vs. Kobe Bryant! Iverson has the speed advantage by Kobe has the size. Iverson played in 82 games (all starts) this season for the Nuggets and he averaged 26.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Iverson can still take over a game when he gets hot.

Kobe Bryant is still an outstanding player. He will likely try to post up Iverson and the Nuggets better help him out on defense. Bryant played in 82 games (all starts) this season for the Lakers and he averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Look for Kobe to attempt to dominate this series.

EDGE: SLIGHT FOR LAKERS

SMALL FORWARD: This matchup could get ugly as the Lakers don’t have anyone that can matchup with Carmelo Anthony unless they slide Lamar Odom over to small forward. Anthony played in 77 games (all starts) for the Nuggets this season and he averaged 25.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Anthony will likely have a huge series against the Lakers.

The Lakers will likely start Vladimir Radmanovic at small forward in this series. He played in 65 games (41 starts) for the Lakers this season and he averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Radmanovic will likely get abused against Anthony on defense.

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE NUGGETS

POWER FORWARD: This should be another good matchup to keep your eyes on. Kenyon Martin vs. Lamar Odom. Martin is the classic power forward as he is a good defender and rebounder. He played in 71 games (all starts) for the Nuggets this season and he averaged 12.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. His all out effort on both ends of the court often infects his teammates with energy.

Lamar Odom has been a solid player for a long time. He often doesn’t get the credit he deserves because he hasn’t been a teams number #1 option on offense for quite a while. Odom played in 77 games (all starts) for the Lakers this season and he averaged 14.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

EDGE: SLIGHT FOR THE LAKERS

CENTER: The Nuggets hope that Marcus Camby will be able to slow down Pau Gasol in this series. Camby played in 79 games (all starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 9.1 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.6 blocked shots per game.

Pau Gasol has been outstanding since coming over from the Grizzlies at the trade deadline. Gasol played in 27 games (all starts) for the Lakers this year and he averaged 18.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: SLIGHT FOR LAKERS

BENCH: The Nuggets have a couple of guys coming off the bench who would start for a lot of teams in the NBA. J.R. Smith is instant offense off the bench. He played in 74 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he averaged 12.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Linas Kleiza also stepped up his game big time this year. He played in 79 games (13 starts) this season and he averaged 11.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Eduardo Najera is a ball of energy off the bench for the Nuggets. He played in 78 games (3 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he averaged 5.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Chucky Atkins is the backup point guard of the Nuggets. He played in 24 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets and he averaged 4.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Yakhouba Diawara also might get a little action in this series. He played in 54 games (14 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he averaged 2.8 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

The Lakers don’t go very deep on the bench. It all starts with reserve point guard Jordan Farmar. Farmar played in 82 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this season and he averaged 9.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Sasha Vujacic is the long range bomber off the bench. He played in 72 games (0 starts) for the Lakers this season and he averaged 8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Luke Walton is a energy player off the bench for the Lakers. He played in 74 games (31 starts) for the Lakers this season and he averaged 7.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Ronny Turiaf is the main backup at the power positions for the Lakers. He played in 78 games (21 starts) for the Lakers and he averaged 6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: NUGGETS

PREDICTION: I HAVE A FEELING THAT THE NUGGETS WILL WIN THIS SERIES IN 7 GAMES