... play the nuggets or Lakers in the first round?As a spurs fan I don't know who I would rather play in the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets or Lakers. The Nuggets havent reached their full potential or "peak" with Iverson and Melo yet and I am afraid that they might just explode in the first round. On the other hand the lakers are also scary because of well, Kobe Bean Bryant. He is just plain scary to go against any day of the year. So who would you rather play?
I would go with the Lakers because the Spurs know how to handle them. They have had tons of playoff experience playing L.A.. Besides, Kobe is the only guy that gets hot for them. The Spurs have so many weapons to counter Kobe's outburst. Denver has a lot more fire power and might force the Spurs to have a shootout with them. Spurs Vs Lakers is a very entertaining opening round series and I say Spurs would win that in 6 games. I don't know what would happen against the Nuggets.
I would rather play the Nuggets. Kobe can just get too hot and beat any team in the league by himself, though I don't see the Spurs losing to them. The Nuggets do have two All-Stars, but their lack of experience together could be a disadvantage to them. AI has only played half a season with them and they are just now meshing. IDK, both teams could get real hot, while at any point they can get cold, so it's hard to say who I would rather play.
Then again, the Nuggets are more rested than the Lakers:Carmelo Anthony missed 15 games because of the suspension.JR Smith missed 10 games because of the suspension.Marcus Camby missed time with various injuries.Allen Iverson sat out a lot of games while waiting to be traded, and then missed 9 or 10 games, including the All-Star Break, with an ankle injury.These guys have fresher legs than pretty much any other playoff team. Might not be too big of a factor, but still something to think about.