2009 NBA Playoffs Denver Nuggets (0-1) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (1-0) Game 2: What an incredible start to these 2009 NBA Playoffs Conference Finals! First everyone declares the Los Angeles Lakers dead against the Denver Nuggets and BOOM they take game 1. Then, the Cleveland Cavaliers are basically unbeatable and will sweep their way into the NBA Finals and BAM my prediction became true as Orlando took game 1 last night.
That’s the beauty of the NBA, anything can happen on any given night, and momentum… momentum is just a guy that can switch jerseys in between and even during games, but can make all the difference in the world. 
So what’s going to happen in game 2 of this series? Keep reading to find out. Let’s get things started by introducing tonight’s 2009 NBA Playoffs Sports Odds for this: Denver Nuggets [+5½] vs. Los Angeles Lakers [-5½] Game 2.
The Western Conference Finals got off to an explosive start. Carmelo Anthony was brilliant through most of the game, scoring 39 points. But in the end, it was Kobe Bryant who was brilliant when he needed to shine the brightest, finishing with a game-high 40 big ones.
Sure Denver played well enough to win, but the only thing that matters in a close game is how you execute in the final, decisive moments in ball games. "We just kind of got away with one,” Bryant said, grinning. "It happens sometimes.” The OVER/UNDER for tonight’s 2009 NBA Playoffs: Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers Game 2 has been set at a combined total of 210½ points.
"It was one of those gutty performances that you have to have throughout the postseason,” Bryant said Wednesday. "We had everything working against us mistakes, loose balls, bobbling balls out of bounds. It just seemed like one of those nights, but we managed to pull through it.”
Despite being outplayed for most of the game 1, there are a lot of positives for the Lakers to take away from the opener. One of those positives is Derek Fisher. To say that “D-Fish” has struggled all postseason long would be a huge understatement. Yet in crunch time, the dependable bulldog hit a clutch 3-pointer from the corner, which should give him lots of confidence in Game 2.
In addition, I expect Pau Gasol and (especially) Andrew Bynum to have one of those breakout games tonight, putting the pressure on the Nuggets’ “bigs”. In game 1, Denver’s frontcourt outplayed L.A.’s, that’s something I’m assuming the Zen Master will take a look at and adjustments will be made.I expect Game 2 to be played inside-out.
For the Nuggets, they did a great job in game 1, no question. Problem is, “Melo” is not going to be able to duplicate those numbers every night and that’s why the Lakers are a better team and will win this series. They got unexpected production out of Kenyon Martin, and still lost the game. Melo couldn’t have possibly played any better, and they still lost the game. Get off the bandwagon people, or get ready to lose money!
"We played 46½ solid minutes, just the last minute or so got away from us. But we can take a lot of things from it that we did well,” Kenyon Martin said. "We just need to eliminate some of the little mistakes and go from there. That's the beauty of it, there's another game tomorrow.”
I predict the Lakers not only win game 2, but a message will be sent to the Nuggets: you can’t beat us! If there's one thing that the Lakers have done consistently all season long it's been playing to the level of their competition. And the competition is now great… I expect the Lakers to come out in game 2 firing on all cylinders and go up big early on.
