If the playoffs are all about momentum, then look out for the Los Angeles Lakers who are playing their best basketball heading into a first-round matchup with the Denver Nuggets. Winners of eight of their last nine games, Los Angeles earned the No. 1 seed from the Western Conference and home-court advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

L.A. is led by Kobe Bryant, who just five-and-a-half months ago requested a trade out of frustration over the Lakers' inability to acquire talent that could help them win a title. Once the season began, Bryant let his play on the court do the talking and after a stumble out of the opening blocks, the supporting cast responded by going on a tear. With a 28-16 record on Feb. 3, the Lakers pulled the trigger on a trade to bring 7-footer Pau Gasol on board from Memphis.

Gasol's acquisition was key for the Lakers, who had stumbled a bit since losing 20-year-old center Andrew Bynum in January to a left knee injury. Gasol and the rest of the Lakers cast clicked right away, the bench became a true weapon, and L.A. ended up with the best record in the West. The Lakers are hopeful Bynum will be available for their second-round series should they advance.

The Nuggets held off the Golden State Warriors for the eighth and final playoff position after winning 50 games for the first time in 20 years. Denver finished second in the league in scoring at 110.7 points a game, but also gave up 107 points a game, second-worst in the league. The Lakers swept them in the season series, winning their three games by an average of 16.3 points. Denver has been eliminated from the playoffs in five games each of the last four seasons, while the Lakers have been booted from the playoffs in the first round the last two seasons by the Phoenix Suns.

Denver is a free-wheeling team that boasts two of the top-four scorers in the game. Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony finished third and fourth respectively in the NBA in scoring with Iverson posting a 26.4 average and Anthony following with a 25.7 average. Denver also brings energy off the bench in the form of J.R. Smith, Linas Kleiza and Eduardo Najera.

To make a dent in the L.A. machine, Denver is going to have to play at a high level on the defensive end, something the Nuggets struggled with throughout the course of the regular season.

This series should be a lot of fun. Both teams like to get up and down the court, and the pace should be frenetic. The Lakers' bench has been terrific this season. Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf each bring energy from the second unit, and this team enjoys playing together. Denver's Marcus Camby led the NBA in blocks with a 3.61 average and finished second in rebounding with a career-best 13.1 average. He'll be a presence in the middle for the Nuggets. Denver will make an effort to stretch the series, but L.A. will have too much energy for the Nuggets in the end.