Denver makes a gallant stand but surprisingly (and yet expectedly) it was J.R. Smith who went down firing. I wrote that Smith would be the x-factor for Denver in this series and he didn’t disappoint.

Kobe a.k.a. Mr. Closer put the Nuggets at bay with his torrid shooting and playmaking in the fourth quarter.

I kind of predicted a sweep when I wrote:

If L.A. beats Denver badly in the first 2 games, a sweep won’t be a stretch.

My official prediction, however, was 4 - 2 in favor of the Lakers of course. As it turned out, the Lakers did beat the Nuggets badly in the first two games of the series. In fact, they beat the Nuggets badly in the first three games. They were beaten so bad that Melo decided to blame everybody but himself (at hindsight, it looks like he was blaming only Karl).

Phil Jackson wasn’t that impressed. I am not impressed *yet*. Denver was more to blame for their own loss. They were playing without purpose. Melo never was visible the entire series. And as I’ve said all along, the Nuggets team scores individually. The structure of an offensive system is not apparent. If anything, only their defensive schemes were the ones noticed and yet it didn’t do any damage.

In my opinion the series with Utah (yes, Houston will lose) will be the true test for this Laker team. Utah has a working offensive system and plays very physical defense. Utah plays with a purpose and they are very well-coached. If Los Angeles beats Utah in the 2nd round, they will have beaten a strong team with an identity.

The Jazz marquee players work silently hard and respect their coach. They have a working system. The Lakers, with the use of the triangle, will try and might just break that system.

• 1st Round: Lakers vs Nuggets
• Lakers 3, Nuggets 0
• Lakers 4, Jazz 2
• Lakers 2, Jazz 2
• Lakers 2, Jazz 0