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Sometimes collaborator at this site is a guy who runs by the pseudonym 'Usher', and believe it or not, he has the misfortune of being a Nuggets fan. Hey, we can't pick who we follow, huh?
Aaaaaaaanyway, in the interest of having a look at what the OTHER SIDE think, here's his reasons why LA won't beat Denver... over to Usher (you can read the LA side o' things as well):
Behind Enemy Lines: Usher (Denver-über-fan)
5 reasons? I could give you 20.
1. Chauncey Billups
He has been to about 1000 consecutive Conference Finals. He turned the Enver Nuggets into a very strong defensive team (more on that later). He literally saved both George Karl and Carmelo  Anthonys careers. He's a Denver boy, born and bred. He's the best number 7 since John Elway. He is Chauncey Billups.
I've been saying this for a while now, but the Lakers have no one capable of containing Chauncey, unless they put Kobe on him, which they won't want to do unless absolutely necessary. He'll burn any of the Lakers point guards that they throw at him. He has come up against 2 future HOF point guards these playoffs, and beat them by submission. Hell, by Game 3, Kidd was forced to jack up 3's as his only way of scoring. Meanwhile for the Lakers, Fisher/Farmer/Brown have been comprehensively outplayed by Brooks and Lowry.
Unlike the Lakers, who don't rely on the point guard heavily, Chauncey plays a major role in the Nuggets offense, and if he fires up this series, he alone may be too much to handle.
Advantage Nuggets
2. They are deeper then the Lakers
At the beginning of the season, the Lakers were the deepest side in the L, no doubt. But as the seasons wore on, their 2nd unit looks weak. Bynum still doesn't realise it is The Playoffs, Farmar and Brown are role players and nothing more, meanwhile Vujacic is in a 3 man duel with Ray Allen and Derek Fisher for who can shoot the lowest FG% these playoffs.
The Rockets 2nd unit dominated the Lakers all series, and the Nuggets will continue this.
 The Birdman is the best player on a minimum-level contract, without doubt. He has been an amazing find. It looked like trouble when the Nuggets traded the best shot blocker in the game in Camby. Yet look at this season - Birdman finishes 2nd in block. Camby 3rd. This is why Mark Warkentien won the Executive of the Year. JR Smith is a true enigme, and can win (and lose) a playoff game by himself. He was the 2nd best 6th Man this season, and Birdman wasn't far behind. Anthony Carter matched it with CP3 and Kidd, he'll have no problem with Fisher. And Dahntay Jones has been very solid this postseason in the minutes he's been given, particularly on the offensive end. Not to mention being the top contender for Dunk of the Playoffs.
3. Defense
Amazingly, the Nuggets defense has been their strength this season. Billups is in the top 3 defensive PG in the league, Birdman is a monstor inside, and K-Mart is healthy and ready to rumble! He and Anderson make up the most lethal shotblocking duo in the league. The Nuggets base their defense around forcing teams to play perimeter basketball. While it's going to be tough to do with the Lakers 2 7"ft in the paint, if the Lakers are forced to play an outside game, I like the Nuggets chances. The Lakers haven't been hitting their 3's all playoffs.
On the topic of defense, I'm not sold on their interior defense of the Lakers at all. The way Nene and K-Mart can slash to the basket, they can take advantage of the weak defence Pau and Bynum have offered up this season.
On a related topic - Who has played better this season (regular and post)? Bynum or Nene? Yeah, that's what I thought.
4. Hibachi
The Nuggets are hot. The hottest thing this side of Cleveland. The hottest thing since the pool scene from Wild Things.
Hot.
 Chauncey Billups ran riot during the 1st round, Carmelo hits a buzzer beater and shoots the lights out in the 2nd round, Nene is playing career ball at the moment, JR Smith is the NBAs version of Katy Perry (Hot & Cold) (apologies for the pop music reference). They equalled the NBA record for biggest winning margin in a playoff game (Hibachi!), they hold the record for biggest aggregate winning margin through 10 games (Hibachi!), the line-up of Carter, JR Smith, Carmelo, K-Mart and Anderson hold the record for most tattoos on the court o fall time (HIBACHI). They've dropped only 1 game against the Hornets and last seasons real MVP Chris Paul (cheap Kobe dig), and only 1 game against the Mavs and their All-NBA Power Forward. HIBACHI!!
While on Kobe, teams should forget 2010 and start clearing cap space towards this off-season. If the Lakers lose this series, I'm willing to offer pretty good odds Kobe declines his player option and skips town. Did someone say Chicago Bulls...
5. Homecourt
The Nuggets have one of the biggest homecourt advantages in the NBA.
Teams have traditionally struggled in the high altitude, and that's been proved this season. They've won 16 consecutive games at home. That's impressive.
Even in the regular season, the Lakers struggled in Denver. They only just won the first game, and that was the day after the Iverson-Billups trade went down, meaning they were playing a much depleted Nuggets side.
And the next time they met, the Nuggets beat them. I like the chances of the Nuggets sweeping their home games. All they need to do is steal one of the first 2 games and they become instant favourites.
Nuggets in 6...
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