Boys and girls, it’s getting down to the wire and it is getting exciting. With the Lakers losing to the Suns, the Nuggets are now the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The question is, how long will they hold that spot? The Lakers come into Denver tonight looking to get the sixth seed back. A Laker win will do just that. Of course that won’t be easy, the Nuggets have had the Lakers’ number as of late. The Lakers haven’t beaten the Nuggets since their victory back on January 5th. Last Tuesday’s Nuggets victory over the Lakers showed just what the Nuggets can do, even if they are facing Kobe Bryant. Tonight’s game should be no different for ‘Melo, A.I. and the rest of the boys in blue.

Denver is on a tear, winning their last five games. That is impressive enough in itself, but the Nuggets are winning games doing something they haven’t done all season. They’re playing defense. Starting with a 75-71 victory over the Mavericks, Denver continued to show their defensive prowess by holding the Clippers under 100 points in a 96-93 victory Saturday night. It’s like the Super Bowl champions, the Indianapolis Colts. Going into the playoffs, their defense was horrible, then, all of a sudden, they learned how to play some “D” and the rest is history. If the Nuggets can keep it up, the rest might be history for them too.

Kobe Bryant is one of the best, if not the best, player in the NBA. Unfortunately, he was matched up against another star, Steve Nash. The outcome was a Lakers loss at the worst time. With a handful of teams battling for the final three spots in the Western Conference playoffs, the Lakers are dangerously close to sitting this post-season out. After tonight’s game, the Lakers will be looking forward to meetings against the Clippers, Suns and Spurs. Good news for Lakers fans though, of the teams battling for the final spots, no one has an easy schedule. That might be all that saves Kobe Bryant and friends.

There is nothing like fighting for your playoff lives and control your own destiny and that is exactly how this race is shaping up. As NBA fans, all we need to do is sit back, grab a cold one, and enjoy.