The Lakers are in Mile-High City for a Pivotal Game Against the Nuggets by Jeff Little

Western Conference 1^st Round – Game 3

It is May 4, 2012 and the (3) Los Angeles Lakers are in Colorado for a pivotal game three against the (6) Denver Nuggets. The Lakers, as expected, took a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series and maintained their home-court advantage.

The Lakers’ two all-stars – Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum – combined for 65 points and led them to their second win of the series. Denver made several adjustments in Game Two: they were more competitive, got more players involved and played a better all-around game. But after 96 minutes of playoff basketball, the Nuggets never held the lead and they left Los Angeles without a win.

L.A. has now won 19-of-23 postseason games against the Nuggets. The series now switches from the friendly confines of the Staples Center to the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Lakers won the four-game season series against the Nuggets (3-1) and the one loss on January 1st was at the Pepsi Center.  In Denver, the Lakers were 4-6 in their last 10 regular season games.

In the playoffs – win or lose – both teams need to make adjustments: one to maintain their advantage, the other to gain one.  Nothing has come easy for the Lakers so to expect that to change in the post-season would be dreaming. They have controlled the action and dictated the style of play in the first two games of the series.

Los Angeles has an excellent opportunity to take command of this series with a win tonight. It is imperative that the Lakers’ defense improves and that they control the tempo. The perimeter defenders need to keep the Nuggets out of the paint, control the boards, and limit Denver’s second-chance points.

L.A. has to do a better job of defending the pick-and-roll play, staying in front of Denver point guard Ty Lawson, stopping the dribble penetration of the guards, getting back in transition and quickly rotating out to open shooters. The Lakers need to take care of the ball and limit the Nuggets to one shot per possession.

The combination of the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol has dominated on the inside. However, there is nothing wrong with adding a few pump and ball fakes for Denver center JaVale McGee, who blocked six shots in game two. Los Angeles needs to improve their ball movement as well as their player movement to find high percentage shots.

The Nuggets have a lot of depth. To come out with a win, the Lakers need a contribution from everyone. They also need a big game from their reserves. The purple and gold need to come out with a lot of energy in this game. They must establish and maintain a lead to take the crowd out of the game and pound the Nuggets on the inside.

Starters
Lakers: R. Sessions, K. Bryant, D.Ebanks, P.Gasol, A. Bynum
Nuggets: T. Lawson, A. Afflalo, D. Gallinari, K. Faried, K. Koufos   

Tip-off: 7:30 PM PST

Television -

• Los Angeles: KCAL (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz) & ESPN
• Denver: Altitude Sports & Entertainment (Chris Marlowe & Scott Hastings ) & ESPN

Radio -

• Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
• Denver: KKFN AM 950 (Jerry Schemel & Mark Bertagnolli)

Injuries -

Lakers:

• Metta World Peace (League Suspension – Game 4) Out
• Matt Barnes (Sprained Right Ankle) Day-to-Day
• Devin Ebanks (Middle & Ring Finger Contusions, Left Hand) Probable

Nuggets:

• Al Harrington (Knee) Day-to-Day

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