On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 116-102, but Friday night the Lakers play the Nuggets division foe the Portland Trailblazers and can determine who wins the Northwest division.

With the return of Andrew Bynum to the Lakers lineup, Los Angeles now has their big men back in position. The Nuggets could not matchup with the Lakers, but the Blazers are a different situation.



With Greg Oden returning from injury and getting back into basketball shape, just like Bynum and with arguably the best second option on the team in LaMarcus Aldridge, the Lakers will have their hands full.



The Lakers have a solid front and back court that most NBA teams and coaches would love to have, and with Kobe Bryant, the league’s current MVP, Portland would have a big task tonight at the rose Garden.



At the moment the Nuggets have a slim 2-game lead on the division over Portland with two games left – one at home against the Sacramento Kings and the other an important road game in Portland.



Currently in second place in the Northwest division behind the Nuggets, the Blazers also have 50 wins and a possibility of a win tonight against the Lakers at home and decide the division next week Wednesday at home against Denver.



The Blazers are also tied for fourth with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference. A win over the Lakers will make their game against Denver a battle for the division rather than just overtaking the Spurs and the Houston Rockets.
It also provides them the possible home court advantage as well.



The Lakers probably do not care too much about either team; they have a lot to worry about with the Cleveland Cavaliers as their focus. No one in the west can catch up with Los Angeles, because Bryant and his team has a 10.5 game lead so first and pole position is all theirs. Last season, the Boston Celtics had home court advantage throughout the postseason.



Bryant won’t let that home court advantage slip out of their hands since he knows they have Portland on the road, with Memphis Grizzlies and the Utah Jazz at home, to finish the season; he is also in contention once again for the NBA MVP title, so fans should expect Bryant to go on a tear in all three games.



Bryant would need all the help he can get and coach Phil Jackson will play both Bynum and Pau Gasol for chemistry reasons and also Bynum to get some games in before the postseason.



“We have two 7-footers out there that can rebound,” Gasol said.
The Lakers will be playing the much overhyped phrased in the NBA “back-to-back games” and though not an excuse, because the Lakers are gunning for home court advantage throughout the playoffs, the Blazer fans and NBA fans as a whole will be in for a good game.



If the Lakers defeat the Blazers tonight, that helps the Nuggets hold onto their lead in the division. A loss to Portland cuts the lead and with the Blazers playing the other L.A. team on Saturday, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nuggets to finish the season, the division might be decided on Wednesday April 15th, which coincides with the last day of the NBA’s regular season.

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