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Friday’s Western Conference Finals Game 6

(Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets)

The plot thickens in the Western Conference Finals after the Los Angeles Lakers won game five using of different game plan. Usually Kobe Bryant comes out shooting and ending up with 30 to 40+ points, not in game five though as he Kobe got his teammates involved and will take his Lakers back to Denver with a 3-2 series advantage.

The Pepsi Center may not be the Rose Garden, but is without a doubt one hell of a hostile environment for an opposing team of the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs. The Lakers realized that in game four as the Nuggets ended up pretty much having their way with Kobe and company in the fourth quarter and keeping their NBA Finals hopes alive heading to Los Angeles with the series tied at two a piece.

Even though after game five’s win over the Nuggets makes me believe that the Lakers will win this series I think Denver will still take the Lakers the distance. Game six will be a very competitive match up in Denver and despite a Lakers win in game five the Nuggets have the edge on the home floor right now.

In game five the Nuggets struggled in quite a few aspects of their game, but Denver has proved to be resilient in games in which coming off a loss against the Lakers. Los Angeles took game on and in game two the Nuggets came back and won game two. The same thing happened in game four after the Lakers beat the Nuggets in Denver in game one, now we have the same situation once again with the Lakers heading back to the mile high city after a loss.

Can the Lakers win game six?

Most definitely, but I don’t think the Nuggets are done just yet. Denver will need a big game out of Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and JR Smith to hold off Kobe and company from closing out the series on their home floor in Denver.

The Lakers may have figured out how to convincingly beat the Nuggets with their play in game five in LA. Believe it or not Kobe only took 13 shots in all of game five and the Lakers were still able to win by nine points 103-94. The biggest difference in my opinion was in the rebound department mostly due to Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. The Lakers have struggled on the boards throughout this series as the Nuggets have capitalized on second chance opportunities with Nene and Chris “The Birdman” Anderson sneaking into the paint and getting the jump on Pau, Bynum and Odom.

If the Lakers play the way they did in game five in game six this series is over and the Lakers will advance to the NBA Finals for the second straight season, but I know the Nuggets will put up a fight in this elimination game.

Game six should be closer and Denver should win at home to send the series back to LA, but like I said if the Lakers play with the same kind of intensity in the rebound department then it might be the Nuggets last game this season.

My pick, the Nuggets win game six and the Lakers will win game seven.