Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The Denver Nuggets powered past the Lakers on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, just their latest feat of strength since trading Carmelo Anthony.  Turns out it’s a good time to be a die-hard Nuggets fan.

That 95-90 win before a spoiled Staples Center crowed locked the Nuggets in for a playoff spot with 6 games remaining in the regular season.  A game that began with LA fans heckling during the National Anthem ended with those same fans hitting the exits early as Denver pulled away late.

Ray Felton had another fourth quarter explosion to propel Denver past a Lakers squad that had lost just once since the All Star Break.  Before Felton’s closing heroics it was Danilo Gallinari’s offense and a total team defensive effort that kept the Nuggets and Lakers locked in a tight duel that saw neither team lead by more than 7 points.

Now ESPN’s Marc Stein has dragged the Nuggets from 7^th in his weekly Power Rankings all the way up to 3^rd behind LA and Chicago.  John Hollinger’s stat-driven daily Power Rankings have had the Nuggets ranked at 3^rd for weeks, so it was good to see Stein belatedly catch on.  Perhaps the nationally-televised stifling of the World Champion Lakers on Sunday was the first Nuggets game that Stein bothered to watch post-Melo.  If so, welcome to the waking world Marc.

Clueless East Coast sportswriters aside, plenty of basketball aficionados have been singing the Nuggets’ praises for weeks.  Bill Simmons, the thinking man’s sportswriter, for one.  There are others though…

Denver Post staff writer Woody Paige lauds the Nuggets’ newfound defensive pressure and scoring depth every chance he gets as a regular contributor to ESPN’s sports talk game show ‘Around the Horn’.  TNT’s Charles Barkley jumped on the Denver Bandwagon early, claiming that the Nuggets were the deepest team in the NBA following a defensively sound 89-75 thumping of the (then) East-best Boston Celtics way back on February 24^th.  In his post-game remarks on the Nuggets, Barkley became the first national sports figure to state what many others in sports media are just now coming to understand – the Denver Nuggets are a better basketball team without Carmelo Anthony.

Of course, it helped that the Melo (plus Chauncey) Trade netted a trio of worthy starters in Gallinari, Felton and Wilson Chandler.  It was Chandler defending Lakers star Kobe Bryant on Sunday, holding the perennial MVP candidate to 37% shooting from the floor.  That was Bryant’s worst shooting game in two weeks, and Kobe missed all four of his three-point attempts trying to shoot over a combination of Chandler and JR Smith.

Even Timofey Mozgov, another ex-Knick who landed in Denver, got considerable playing time with Chris “Birdman” Andersen sidelined by an ankle injury.  The Mozgov was absolutely dominant in the defensive paint during his 15 minutes off the bench.

The All Star Lakers, winners of the last two NBA Championships, were at a loss all game trying to solve Denver’s defensive tenacity and bench-deep offensive pressure.  The Lakers are the runners-up (behind the Yankees) for title of All-Time Haves in the perennial Sports World battle between Haves and Have-Nots.  That luxury has made them soft in many ways, lazy in others, and Denver has the kind of deep, driven team to exploit those weaknesses.

Even the Lakers’ fans appear to have caught a case of the fit ‘n quits watching LA win so consistently for so long.  In crunch time Kobe Bryant threw fits when his wild, off-kilter shots didn’t drop and his Star Power failed to elicit auto-calls from the referees.  A particularly spirited floor-slapping fit elicited a technical foul instead.  Bryant responded by giving up on team basketball and trying to win the game solo.

Kobe’s Lakers are a perfect reflection of the fan-base, which threw fits early and quit on its team late.

A microphone malfunction quieted the pre-game singing of the National Anthem, with Lakers fans jeering and yelling to drown out the acoustic rendition.  It was a fitting display of classless bravado on the part of the LA faithful.  Later on, when Lakers jerseys were streaming out the exits in droves with just under a minute left in a still winnable game, it was appropriate to remember that pre-game hostility.

Los Angeles fans are the spoiled children too used to getting what they want who throw tantrums when things didn’t go just right.

Back in Denver I watched with family and friends as Staples Center emptied out.  I thought back to half-empty McNichols Arena during the Jester Nuggets Era and half-effort games during the Melo Era.  Remembered how Carmelo almost went to Detroit and how Kobe almost came to Denver.  Watched as Kenyon Martin pounded his chest and screamed after that fleeing LA crowd, “What!?”

It’s a good time to be a die-hard Nuggets fan.  Who’da thunk it?

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The Denver Nuggets looked asleep at the wheel for at least half of their 98-96 win over the LA Lakers on Thursday night.  Luckily, Los Angeles rested Kobe Bryant’s sore knee and finger in preparation for the playoff defense of their 2009 title.

The Nuggets imposed their will on the Lakers at times, but slipped into mini-comas every time they took a lead.

This pattern was eerily reminiscent of every game Denver has played against sub-.500 teams this season… which the Lakers may well be without Kobe Bryant to bail them out in the closing seconds of every third game.

Ron Artest & Paul Gasol played admirably with Bryant out, but the rest of the Lakers, including head coach Phil Jackson, looked confused and disoriented without their ace in the hole.  LA managed to take Denver to the wire, and the whole messy game came down to one Lakers possession with time running out.

So, with Kobe sidelined, who takes the clutch shot from beyond the arc with the game on the line?

Here were Phil Jackson’s options at guard, along with their field goal makes vs. attempts on the night.

Sasha Vujacic? (3-12)

Shannon Brown? (3-12)

Jordan Farmar? (3-8)

Derek Fisher? (2-11)

None of these options looked particularly appealing from where Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson was sitting as the Lakers prepared to inbound the ball with 0:12 left in the game.  JR Smith had just made 1 of 2 free throws to put Denver up by 2… surely Jackson would use one of his two remaining timeouts to draw up a play that finds the open man.

No?  Really?

Well, it makes sense in a way.  Ol’ Phil has always had a clutch performer to handle such situations.  Suggestions that Jackson is little more than a glorified personality manager sound strangely plausible at times like these.

Here’s the plan on a normal night in the coaching life of Phil Jackson:

Somebody gets Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant the ball.  They dribble for a while, head-fake for flavor, and then bury the contested game-winning shot.  It’s a simple formula, but when your coaching resume consists of the Chicago Bulls Dynasty & the LA Lakers Dynasty, certain decisions become very easy.

No Michael?  No Kobe?  Paralysis…

With 0:12 remaining and Denver up by 2, the Lakers inbounded from the Nuggets’ end.

Phil Jackson is shown by TNT cameras sitting placidly on the sideline, his eyes glassed over, clearly immobilized in indecision.

Derek Fisher dribbles out 0:10 worth of clock with Carmelo Anthony crouched in front of him.  With 0:02 left, Fisher glances to his right as though he might actually pass with time expiring, and then makes his best Kobe Bryant impression…

Unfortunately for Derek, he is 6’2” tall.  Carmelo Anthony is 6’8” tall with very long arms.  Also unfortunate for Mr. Fisher, he is not Kobe Bryant nor so much as a serviceable stand-in.

Fisher rears to shoot, and before his arms can even come fully forward Carmelo meets his hand with a sort of high-five block.

(A note to Lakers fans: the hand is part of the ball where shot-blocking and foul-calling are concerned.  I write this because I know you do not know this.  Were Kobe Bryant to receive a similar high-five block, an erroneous foul would have been called.  If not, Kobe would have put on his best tantrum face and stalked off the court, leading confused yellow-clad Hell-A dwellers to think that a foul should have been called.  You can thank me for the clarification later.)

After the high-five block, the ball sails about 6 feet up and 3 feet forward in a short, neutered arc.  Time expires.  Nuggets win.

With the victory, Denver moved into 2^nd place in the Western Conference.  The Nuggets play two more home games and then finish their season at Phoenix.  Amazingly, if the Lakers fail to win any of their last four games, and Denver wins out, the Nuggets will take the top seed via a thorough domination of the season series.

Not that Kobe Bryant would ever let that happen, but it is a comforting thought as Denver battles for playoff position with Dallas, Phoenix & Utah.

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Put it on your calendar: Thursday, April 8^th,  2010 @ 8:30pm MST in Denver

That will land you on TNT for a nationally-televised showdown between the LA Lakers and the Denver Nuggets.  The winner will take the momentum of the four-game regular season series into the postseason.

The Nuggets won the first two games of this series, the second a 126-113 overpowering of the Lakers in Los Angeles.  Game Three started out all Denver on Sunday afternoon.  It ended with a narrow home victory for LA on a night when they were forced to abandon their traditional triangle offense in favor of an inside-out passing attack.  Kobe Bryant went from go-to-guy to Mr. Assist in a game where he shot 3-17 from the floor.

For Nuggets fans, I will say this: better now than in the playoffs.

Denver forced LA coach Phil Jackson to play some aces just to escape with a narrow 95-89 win at home.  Phil & Kobe knew that if they didn’t find a way to steal this one, they were probably looking at a series sweep at the hands of the rival Nuggets.  And steal one they did…

The Nuggets led by nine at the end of the first half.  Denver took Bryant out of the game with the surprisingly stout defense of swingman JR Smith.  And the Nuggets looked for all the world like a team preparing to wrest the Best in the West title from the Lakers three quarters of the way through the season.  Then Denver’s ace versus the Lakers, rookie PG Ty Lawson, went down with a shoulder injury.  Without Lawson, and with LA running a modified game plan on both offense & defense, the Nuggets saw their lead slowly fade as the Lakers dredged up just enough scores to manufacture the win.

It didn’t help that Carmelo Anthony took his 6^th foul on a phantom call in the offensive paint with just under three minutes remaining in the game.

NBA referees are notorious for serving up wins to Los Angeles with creative foul calling, and this game was no different.  A league that celebrates superstars by gifting them with a competitive advantage blew just one whistle against Kobe Bryant.  Melo must have been demoted before the game, as he was called for even moderately physical play throughout.

The good news for Nuggets fans is that Game Four is in Denver and will be nationally televised.  With the exception of a certain notorious 2002 Game 6 and the less notorious 2006 Games 3-5, the NBA is pretty sly about their big-game fixes.  The Nuggets should win the season-series versus the Lakers, and set themselves up for an epic showdown with the NBA Champions in the Western Conference Finals.

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The last two times the Nuggets and the Lakers played, Ty Lawson had his best and second-best performance of the season.  His short stature makes him difficult to guard by the giant frontcourt LA employs.  I will be watching Ty Lawson very closely today.

A couple bench players out for LA (Sasha Vujacic -sprained right shoulder; Luke Walton-pinched nerve), and general bumps and bruises all around the lineup: Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Pao Gasol-not listed on the injury report, but let’s be honest, he’s always hurt.

A high foul game would favor the Nuggets.    

1^st Quarter

9:18 The game begins about as expected.

Nuggets are showing commitment to the isolations while the Lakers are trying to vary the paint scoring with jump-shooting, as the triangle offense is wont to do. 

8:51-6:21 Nuggets go on an early 12-4 run due to all-around good defense.

Only one uncontested shot, a three pointer by Ron Artest on a steal half way through the run.  The Lakers try to stop the run halfway with a timeout in between some Carmelo Anthony FTs.  So the run could easily be 13-4 in a moment and might continue into the next few minutes.

Offensively, the Nuggets are knifing to the basket now in their isolations, which is opening up the jump-shooting as well as adding in some paint points.

4:13 The Lakers are maintaining the deficit with some solid paint defense and missed Nuggets FT.

 

 (I’m looking at you Nene,) but they can’t make up any ground because they are content to jump-shoot and can’t get anything to fall.

 At some point they have to get back to the rim or this will be an easy Nugget win. 

1:13 J. R. Smith is guarding Kobe?

I have my doubts about this strategy but out the gate it pays off; Kobe forced to pass off under too much duress to shot on the first touch, throws up an unbalanced brick on the second, and J.R. steals a pass to Kobe on the next possession.

A frustrated Kobe yells at the refs and earns himself a Technical.

End Period. Nuggets 29-21

Nuggets are driving the lane and knifing to the basket on isolations, the Lakers are settling for jump shoots; that’s about the story of the game.  Jump-shooting is a tempting siren, but it will burn you more than it saves you (take note of this Orlando)

2^nd Quarter

9:35 The story of the game continues into the second.

The Nuggets are adding two points here and two points there to their lead.  I find myself wondering why Phil Jackson isn’t making any adjustments. 

Carmelo is starting to heat up.

7:53 Nuggets get to the basket again and force a foul again.

Meanwhile the Lakes could make a jumper to save their lives.  This is amazing that the Lakers are letting this continue.

5:08 The Lakers’ first drive of the game in the last 10+ minutes gets a foul.

The Lakers finally realize what was obvious; 8 points too late and now trailing by 11.  Nice adjustment LA.   The Nuggets on the other hand have abandoned their isolations and are just driving the lane.

Working for now.

3:54 I checked the stats, the Lakers have a slight edge in rebounds.

But the Nuggets are getting the crucial ones.   The Lakers are showing some commitment in getting to the rim finally, and are back to maintaining the deficit.

End Quarter.  Nuggets 52-43

Quite simply, the Nuggets have a better game plan than the Lakers do.

It’s not any real individual excellence or deficiency, not any unbalanced calls, just better strategy.  The Nuggets are balancing their attack between Isolation and drives, with some high percentage jump-shots interspersed.  The Lakers are depending entirely on jump-shooting.  There you go, 9 point lead.

One troubling point, the Nuggets haven’t been able to make this first half count quite as much as they could.  Shooting is down (40%) and FT should be better (16-23).  If the Nuggets shoot a little bit better they could easily be up by 15.  Not taking full advantage of your chances is a good way to give up a winnable game.

3^rd Quarter

9:50 Nuggets open the second half with 4 straight misses (3 jumpers and a layup)

The Lakers close to 3 points, all six points by the Lakers being scored in the paint. In fact only one shot in the quarter taken outside the paint.  This game is now up for grabs with bad shooting.

10:57-7:56 Lakers go on a 10-2 run that withstands a Nuggets timeout.

A plethora of poor jump-shots by the Nuggets, and good jump-shooting by the Lakers.  Nuggets need to find the way back to the rim.  The run ends when Anthony drives to the rim on a left side isolation (finally) and earns a foul.

7:32-5:22 Nuggets follow the Lakers 10-2 run with a 10-0.

Afflalo jump-shooting  was the reason for the run, 2-2 with a three pointer to force a Lakers timeout.

3:49 Lakers getting better balance in their offense all quarter.

Solid paint defense is maintaining the lead for the Nuggets.  They look incompetent in the offensive half cour; 0 shots and 3 TO since the run.

5:11-0:17 Lakers go on a 14-6 run to close the third.

14 point in 5 minutes is not an awful defensive effort (especially the defense on Kobe 1-9 FG, 6 points), but only 6 points in 5 minutes is pretty paltry.   The Lakers’ defense is swiping at every ball and contesting every shot.   The Nuggets haven’t run an isolation in 7+ minutes.

End Quarter. Nuggets 70-67

The Lakers pull back in with some great defense.  7 Laker steals shuts down the Nuggets’ offense.   Nuggets need to get back to what they do best, driving on the isolation for foul shots.

4^th Quarter

10:50 First Lakers lead since the first quarter 74-72.

Nuggets can’t make a basket in any way.  They couldn’t put the Lakers away when they had momentum, and now are caught in doldrums while Los Angeles makes them pay for it.

7:11 Lakers have taken full control of the game.

As I think back to the turning point; right about the time Lawson left the game with an injury was about when LA began to figure it out. 

12:00-7:57 Lakers open the final period with a 15-4 run.

Nuggets can’t get anything going offensively.  The run ends with an Afflalo 3 pt in the right corner.

6:17-5:20 Nuggets rattle off 8 quick points to turn this thing back into a game.

Still taking way too many jump-shots, but they are falling.  The Nuggets have taken every single rebound in the last two minutes.

2:13 Melo fighting for position with Artest commits an offensive foul, his sixth.

 I didn’t realize Melo was in foul trouble.  Now the Nuggets are in trouble down by four with their best player out.  Someone needs to step up to the challenge.

1:59 Lakers run an isolation to Kobe, jump shot missed.

1:18 Nuggets throw up 3 of the worst shots they’ve ever taken.

Denver looks absolutely inept in the offensive half.  J.R. Smith launched two of the guaranteed bricks from 5 feet behind the line.  This game is over.

0:12 Lakers are into foul shots with a 6 point lead.

End Game: Lakers 95-89

I don’t know exactly when the Nuggets forgot how to score, but the second half of the game was well below where the Nuggets should be on a bad day (37 second half points).

 They had two fairly solid runs in the second that were both short lived.  Other than those they either launched low-percentage shots or turned the ball over going to the rim.  It’s tough to pinpoint when it happened, and certainly the Lakers defense stepped up their game.

But I think it all comes back to the Ty Lawson injury as the critical moment the scoring dried up

On the bright side, holding the Lakers to 95 points at home is actually a pretty good defensive performance.  36% FG shooting will lose you any game you play, but to shot that poorly and only lose by 6 to the NBA Champions is a good sign.

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1^st Half Plays & Analysis

Kobe’s killing us (23 first half points). Melo’s in warm-ups but not playing.  Everyone sucks at free throws. Nobody’s even considered blocking out Gasol.  Joey Graham is useless in every way I can think of.  Why are we still in the game?

Chauncey’s Three Stroke is big.  K-Mart and Birdman threatening double-doubles helps (points-boards each).   Lawson’s speed is winning in the transition.  But it’s hard to put my finger on why we still look pretty good.  Perhaps this team really has turned a corner.

We have been cheating death (or in the case of the Suns, attempting to cheat death) for around 6 games now.   But we did it against teams like Charlotte, Houston, a beat up San Antonio, Sacramento.

This is the Lakers.  Can we really hope to keep up subpar play and stay in the game to the end?  Some things have to change.

Someone need to slow Kobe down.  Someone needs to make two free throws in a row.  And for God’s sake somebody prevent Gasol from getting any more offensive rebounds.

Some good news… our jump shots from the left side are all falling.  That’s Fisher and Farmer’s side of the court.  Fisher is a liability on defense.  The longer it takes LA to realize this the better.  And Farmer seem to be having a bad night.  Good.  Keep attacking him.

One more thing.  Bynum is playing very well, but is a little long in the fouls.   Chauncey and Nene have got to get him off the court.

Also, anyone notice Kobe Bryant’s puppet has more personality than Kobe Bryant does?

3^rd Quarter Plays & Analysis

NOBODY IS BLOCKING OUT GASOL!!! Fundamentals Nuggets.  Here’s a quick hint.  When on defense and a shot goes up the closest three players just run to the rim.

Billups has missed two free throws.  We are now 7-12 and trailing by 9.  2 to 3 more freebie points would be nice right now.

Andrew Bynum has 4 fouls now.  That’s pretty big.  We can win the paint now.

Chauncey still has the Three Stroke going and JR is creating a black hole with aggressive lane moves.

Kobe has 4 PF now and heads to the bench.  Bad call loose ball foul on K-Mart.  Kobe’s angry and probably is right.

Three more points for Chauncey.  He’s making them from everywhere…

Dito.  From five feet back at the 55 degree mark.  Impossible to defend that.  If you step forward you leave the drive to the Free throw line for one of the best free throw shooters in the NBA, and there’s no reason to step up since he’s 5 feet back at the 55 degree mark.

Dito from 65 degrees.

JR joins the party from the 45 degree mark.  Wide open.  Easy money.

Chauncey holds a clinic on jump shooting, leads the Nuggets all the way back.  Not terrible defense by LA in the quarter, just an amazing quarter by Chauncey (21 points, 5-6 3pts). Three threes made from 3 or more feet behind the line.  He’s been taking lessons from JR Swish.

Beginning 4^th Quarter Plays & Analysis

Same plan as last quarter: get Kobe and Bynum on the bench with fouls.

Lawson is faster with the ball than anyone in the NBA.

Birdman playing good defense on Bynum.  He didn’t get baited into giving up position, manages a block.

Lawson is doing nicely while Chauncey rests.  His speed with control of the basketball is amazing, especially in traffic.  The Lakers seem to have decide to go with nothing but iso’s the rest of the way.

7:20. That’s the time left in the game when I realized Odom has done nothing all game (-17, 10 points, 2 TOs).  That’s good work by the Nuggets.  Odom is a game-changing bench player.  It’s almost more important to remove him from the game than Kobe.

Nene is working the lane well in the fourth.  Good sign against Bynum.  It will send Andrew to the bench with 5 fouls.  Nene’s also working well against Gasol.

JR is warming up in the closing minute too.  His ball handling has been above average for him. (5 dimes, 2 TOs)  It’s creating some space for him on the outside.  And we all know what happens when he’s got three feet in front of him to gauge the basket.

4^th Quarter 5 Minute Mark Plays & Analysis

WOULD SOMEBODY BLOCK OUT GASOL!!!!  I’m looking at you Nene!

Kobe is still a problem.

Nuggets go dribble drive by Chauncey down left slot.  Good pass, K-Mart from 4 feet.

Lakers are going for all the money, three pointer under pressure but offensive rebound by… guess who….  Another three try pretty quick.  Nuggets are getting lucky.  At least this time Nene Blocked out.

Weird play.  K-Mart in the corner left wide open.  Takes a three try with 12 on the clock.  Why do you plan that?  Why do you leave K-Mart open.  Why does he just take the shot with 12 on the clock?  Nothing makes sense on either side of the ball.

Nuggets work JR iso at the top of the arch.  Can’t get it to fall.  Nifty idea.

Pick and Roll to Gasol puts Nene on the bench for good.  But he missed one.  Everybody’s making three’s tonight but missing free throws.

Aaron Afflalo is clutch.  Absolutely clutch.

Nuggets are rushing when they shouldn’t be and it gives up quick posession.

Stretch Run Plays & Analysis

1:00 left… game over.  Smith from 70 degrees. Nuggets by 11.  I’m sorry I can’t give better stretch commentary, but the Nuggets own the game now.  Smith throws on one more for good measure 20 seconds later.

Postgame Comments

Nuggets jump shooters had their day today: 57% percent from the field.  If your jump shooters shoot like that you win regardless of where you are and who you are playing.  So this game is a little hard to quantify.  The first half was atrocious, and yet the Nuggets were only down by 5.  This was partly due to the fact that they shot 55% after 24 minutes.  It would seem that the defense finally locked down the Lakers after they got Bynum and Kobe to the bench.  The Lakers finished the first half shooting 54% and finished the game at 47% meaning they shot around 41%-42% in the second.

Nene was impressive tonight offensively.  He seemed to get faster as the game went on, and his movement in the paint was critical to getting Bynum off the court.  If he does what he did tonight on a more regular basis, he will be the second-best center behind Dwight Howard… and the Nugget will win 60 games and a championship one of these seasons.

The Nuggets may have turned a corner.  Without Melo, they beat the Lakers in their own house.  Better than that, they probably just won the season series with LA for the first time in I don’t care to look up how long.  And they did it with a half of basketball that would have lost to the Grizzlies.  (Now if we could just beat the Kings on a regular basis.)

One last thought… Ty Lawson was great tonight on the dribble drive and the transition.  The last time I remember him playing this good was the last game against the Lakers.  So…. Is Ty Lawson Laker-bane?

I didn’t like the pick when we got him, but he has since proven he can hang in the NBA for a while.  The pick may have been perfect for us if his skills are just the trick to take down our greatest rival.  He’s so small and quick, and the Lakers’ forwards and centers are all too tall to defend him without fouling… a gnome darting amongst the trees.

I know 2 games does not a nemesis make, but you would expect a nemesis to play well in the first two encounters.  I will be watching Ty closely in the next game at LA later this month.

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Kobe Bryant is a one-man scoring machine. (Photo from bigleaguescrew.com)

When the Denver Nuggets take the court tonight in Los Angeles (8:30MST), they will be decided underdogs.  In fact, without top offensive threat Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets will almost surely lose.  But for Kobe Bryant, the game is still a must-win.

Bryant is nursing a bum ankle, an injury sustained two nights ago.  He is undergoing pain therapy to make sure he can play, determined to avenge a 79-105 thrashing in Denver early in the season.  For Bryant, it’s personal.  What’s more, he doesn’t trust the rest of his team to get the job done without him, and he will risk further wear & tear on his injured left ankle as a result.

Without Melo, the Nuggets have struggled to beat middle-of-the-road teams, and they got walloped Wednesday by the aggressive Suns in Denver.  The Nuggets stands 4.5 games back from LA in the Western Conference standings, but they are nowhere close to rushing a so-so Carmelo back into action.  Chauncey Billups has been playing through a nagging ankle injury, and will certainly cede time to Ty Lawson & Anthony Carter.  In short, the Nuggets aren’t panicking over a solitary game on the long road to the Finals… even a game against the team that bounced them out of the playoffs a season ago.

The comparison is drastic; Kobe stubbornly refusing to rest, Carmelo cheering on his team in a suit & tie.  Even with the ’09 Championship, even with the conference lead, even with Carmelo out and Chauncey at 75%, even with a painful, swollen ankle… Kobe Bryant will not shift a single pound of pressure off his All-Star shoulders and onto the ample shoulders of his talented teammates.

Some would call this preoccupation with carrying the load a trait shared by champions, and Kobe is certainly a champion of the highest degree.  But there is another dimension to team sports that Bryant will never fully accept: depending on the guys rockin’ the same color jersey.

Carmelo may never be mentioned in the same conversation as Kobe, MJ, Wilt & Magic.  But after years of selfish play, Carmelo returned from the ’08 Summer Olympics a more complete player.  He understood the game on a level that Kobe never will.  He has been a better teammate and, by many accounts, a better man.  The part of him that always wanted to be The Man grew up, and in his aged wisdom Carmelo Anthony learned to be just as happy for his teammates’ successes as he was for his own big dunks & power drives.

For all of his personal success, you watch Kobe on the sidelines in a blowout win and you know he would just assume still be on the court.  Blinded by his ultra-competitive nature, he doesn’t look happy when Pao Gasol converts a crucial score.  Instead his reaction ranges from passive to jealous… and it always will.

Tonight’s game is about vengeance and winning now.  The city of Los Angeles will follow Kobe’s lead.  In LA, sports fans expect a championship every year, and they expect the Lakers to route the Nuggets every time they come to town.  This is not a judgment on the fine folks in SoCal, but everybody knows you don’t move to LA for the weather.

With two more meetings to go after this one, and having won their first meeting in November, the Nuggets will continue to take the long view.  And Denver fans won’t sweat another loss at Los Angeles.  Thursday, April 8^th the Lakers will come to town, both teams will be at full strength, and we’ll find out just who owns the West.

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