This Season's Matchups L.A. and Denver met four times in the regular season, with the Lakers winning two November matchups and an April 9 meeting, while the Nuggets snapped a 9-game losing streak to the Lakers with a home win in February. Here's a closer look at the matchups, complete with links to each Gameday page featuring postgame and running diary links, box scores, numbers and more. Lakers 116, Nuggets 102 - April 9 @ STAPLES: Kobe Bryant scored 33 points, Pau Gasol was dominant with 27 points and 19 rebounds and Andrew Bynum added 16 and seven in his first game back from injury. Denver had won eight straight and 13-of-14 prior to L.A.‚s 14-point win. Nuggets 90, Lakers 72 - Feb. 27 @ Pepsi Center: A night after scoring 132 points in Phoenix, the back-to-back weary Lakers managed to score only 72 points on putrid 30 percent shooting. J.R. Smith scored 22 points to help Denver end a 9-game losing streak against the Lakers. Lakers 104, Nuggets 90 - Nov. 21 @ Pepsi Center: The Lakers completely dominated the Nuggets in their 10th win in 11 tries, as the starters watched the fourth quarter from the bench and Trevor Ariza was the only Laker to play 30 minutes. Kobe Bryant scored 29 points in three quarters and L.A. shot 57 percent from the field. Lakers 104, Nuggets 94 - Nov. 1 @ STAPLES: Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and the Lakers won their first road game of the season in convincing fashion in part by controlling the glass 53-38. Lakers Courtside Connection Scouting Reports

Eight down, eight to go for the purple and gold.

While the Rockets surely gave L.A. all it wanted in a tough 7-game series that concluded with Sunday's 19-point Game 7 win, Kobe Bryant's team may have discovered something about itself in the process: The Lakers can play some seriously suffocating defense when properly inspired.

That's precisely what they did in Games 5 and 7 at home, and the second half of Game 6 on the road, sparked by the presence of 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol on the interior and some highly-active perimeter defense led by Bryant.

"Our effort could be much better in Game 4 and Game 6, but still, Houston played extremely well," said Bryant. "(But) in Game 6 at halftime we made a decision to get more aggressive - to get up in passing lanes - and we just turned it up another notch. After that game we understood that there was another level still that we could go to defensively."

Playing that way defensively will be necessary against a Nuggets' team that boasts a good deal of offensive firepower, led by Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and sub J.R. Smith. Though Denver lacks a classic low post scorer, it has played much better defensively than at any other point of Anthony's career. The question is how the Rocky Mountain dwellers will fare against a Lakers team that's far more talented than a beat up New Orleans squad (4-1 Denver) or a Dallas team with an injured Josh Howard that still battled quite well (remember the Game 3 non call?). Surely the Lakers are at another level.

Perhaps the key to the series, however, is Andrew Bynum, who creates matchup problems for a Nuggets' front court that goes 6-11 at center (Nene) and 6-9 at power forward (Kenyon Martin). It's no coincidence that Denver won its only game of the regular season series when Bynum was hurt, since Nene moved over to Gasol while Martin tended to Lamar Odom, better physical matchups for both. Furthermore, the Nuggets didn't have to contend with a low post scorer in the First Round (Tyson Chandler can't score) or Dallas (Erick Dampier, not so much), and will have to make an immediate adjustment with L.A.'s twin towers.

Still, that the Lakers swept Denver in last season's first round and have won 9-of-10 games shouldn't be measured too heavily, since it's a far different group of Nuggets.

To preview the matchup more intently, we took a look at the four regular season games; spent some time picking the brain of Lakers advance scout Rasheed Hazzard; and broke down the matchups position-by-position.

Scouting Report
Rasheed Hazzard took us through the Denver Nuggets from Chauncey Billups to their ninth man, Linas Kleiza, in podcast form:

Position-by-Position Breakdown
Here's a look at the matchups from point guard to the bench.

Nuggets: Chauncey Billups didn't make the All-NBA Third Team for nothing in the regular season, and backed it up with two solid rounds of playoff basketball in which he averaged 22.1 points, 7.3 assists, 1.2 steals with just 1.7 turnovers. Billups made 3.3 3-pointers per game on terrific 54.1 percent shooting, and smartly used his size against Chris Paul and savvy against Jason Kidd. Furthermore, his defense is underrated, and Denver will need him to help off Derek Fisher at times. All told, Billups has probably been the best point guard in the playoffs, and gets a nice lift off the bench from the veteran Anthony Carter, who averaged 3.5 points, 2.8 assists and 2.2 boards in 17 minutes. Advantage: Nuggets - This is Denver's biggest matchup advantage on paper, but Derek Fisher knows Billups quite well, won't be hurt by his speed (a la Aaron Brooks) and is strong enough to avoid getting posted up. The Lakers' system is designed to funnel point guards into traffic, and how Billups navigates will be paramount.

Lakers: It's no small secret that Derek Fisher struggled with his shot in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but the veteran didn't let it affect him in Game 7 against Houston, as he put forward a solid floor game in L.A.'s 19-point win. His jump shot looked fine, but produced only 30.8 percent from the field against the Rockets, which he'll be the first to admit won't cut it from a personal level against Denver. Fisher will get a boost from Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown, who were a collectively solid duo against Houston, highlighted by Farmar's outstanding Game 3 in Fisher's absence (12 points, seven assists, one turnover).

Nuggets: Make no mistake, Dahntay Jones is in the game for defense, in this case charged with chasing Kobe Bryant around the court (which didn't help much in the regular season, when Bryant routinely torched him). Jones pitches in 7.6 points and 2.4 boards, but gives up the majority of his minutes to J.R. Smith, who came off the bench to average 16.3 points on 49.6 percent shooting, including 40.7 percent from three in the first two rounds. It's Smith, more so than Jones, about whom L.A. will focus, because even though he's been victim to poor shot selection and ill-timed turnovers in his past, Smith's improved to the point where he can get his shot when and from where he wants.

Lakers: Kobe Bryant averaged 29.7 points against the Rockets before settling for 14 in Game 7 as he took only 12 shots and focused more on defense and ball movement thanks to L.A.'s dominance on the low block, but his ball hawking was impressive and set the tone for L.A., highlighted by his three steals and two blocks. Yet when L.A. was down 1-0 against Houston, Bryant scored 40 points in Game 2 and 33 in Game 3 as the Lakers regained control of the series. In other words, it's there when he wants it, Shane Battier/Ron Artest or not. In the playoffs, Bryant's shooting 45.8 percent for 27.4 points, with 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.17 steals and 0.92 blocks. Advantage:: Lakers - and it's obviously not a contest.

Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony heads into his first Western Conference Finals averaging 27 points (up four from the regular season), 6.4 boards, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals after an 8-2 mark against New Orleans and Dallas. He picked up his scoring to 30 per game against the Mavs on 49 percent shooting, including 44 percent from 3-point range. He has, however, struggled historically against the Lakers, and will go against a good, long defender in Trevor Ariza, who will make him work for his shot. Linas Kleiza's capable of providing some good minutes when Melo's out, but Denver recognizes that it's dependent upon it's young star to score: Can the Nuggets count on Anthony like the Lakers count on Bryant? That will certainly be a determining factor in the series. Advantage:: Nuggets - Other than Kobe Bryant, Anthony may be the best pure scorer in the NBA, and his game has been particularly sharp in the playoffs.

Lakers: Trevor Ariza's play in the playoffs has largely been a major boost for the Lakers, particularly at STAPLES Center, where he's been excellent. Ariza followed up a 61.1 percent First Round with a 50 percent effort against Houston, led by a 15-point Game 7 that featured two first quarter threes to sparked L.A. That we're talking about Ariza's offense is a story in itself, as he's in many ways out there for his perimeter defense that will be such a key against Anthony. Still, that Melo has to pay attention to Ariza (10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.33 steals) on the other end is certainly a good thing for the Lakers. Luke Walton struggled a bit with foot pain in the series, but still checked in to provide some tough defense on Ron Artest and his always-strong ball movement.

Nuggets: Kenyon Martin's feud with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban nearly outshone his rather solid performance on the floor, which in the first two rounds meant 9.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.45 steals, 1.12 blocks and most importantly, some rugged defense. Martin did, however, have as much trouble as most with Dirk Nowitzki, and it won't get any easier as Pau Gasol handled him quite easily in the regular season. Martin's goal will be to get physical with Gasol, pushing him as far away from the hoop as possible, but Gasol's length and all-around skills make any tactic quite difficult to execute. Martin does, however, get a nice boost from Chris Andersen, who averaged 6.9 points, 6.1 boards and 1.89 blocks in 21 minutes off the pine, and will be needed.

Lakers: In the April 9 116-102 Lakers victory, Pau Gasol was unstoppable with 27 points and 19 rebounds, and is a major concern for Denver, who has no one to match up with him. Fresh off a 21 and 18 performance in L.A.'s Game 7 victory over the Rockets, Gasol recognized in his postgame statements that he needs to play with such vigor consistently in the Conference Finals. Because when the All-NBA Third Teamer is clicking on that level, the pressure and attention on Andrew Bynum lessons, and Kobe Bryant has more room to maneuver on the perimeter. Overall, Gasol averaged 18.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 blocks on 56 percent shooting in rounds one and two. Oh, by the way, L.A. has a guy named Lamar Odom on the bench.. Advantage: Lakers - Gasol is as good a litmus test as any for the Lakers, because when he plays to full capacity, they're nearly unbeatable, and many of L.A.'s biggest games of the season were his biggest (i.e. vs. Boston/Cleveland).

Nuggets: Nene took full advantage of his athletic advantage over Erick Dampier and Co. to score 16 points a game along with 6.8 boards in the second round, along with 1.3 steals and .80 blocks. The Nuggets center shot 55.3 percent in the playoffs, and many of his 47 field goals were breakaway dunks, layups and put backs. He's not a terrific offensive option on the low block, preferring to use his athleticism to get to the bucket. A major key to Nene's success will be which Andrew Bynum shows up, because the 7-foot, dominant Bynum gives Nene fits, while a less effective Bynum gives Denver better matchups with Gasol and Lamar Odom for Nene and Martin. Advantage: Push - Until Bynum posted 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, grabbed six rebounds with two blocks and gave Houston fits with his defensive presence, this matchup would have gone to Nene, who's been very effective in the postseason. Yet in the regular season, it would have gone easily to Bynum, who is simply too big and long for the 6-11 Brazilian. So let's call it a push.

Lakers: In determining who is the key to the matchup with Denver, we should remember that Kobe Bryant's consistent greatness is taken for granted, allowing us to focus on other players. In other words, Kobe's always the key. That said, the series may well come down to how Andrew Bynum plays. If he's the dominant defensive presence that also chips in on offense as he did in Games 5 and 7 against Houston, Denver's in trouble. If he struggles as he did in L.A.'s losses, who knows. His playoff numbers (5.6 points, 3.7 boards) are disguised by a lack of minutes, but it's his presence about which L.A.'s more concerned. One other note: After spending the entire Utah series in foul trouble, Bynum didn't get more than three once against Houston.