Denver Stiffs, a Denver Nuggets community

Finally somebody talks about how much better the Lakers team was ... not specifically Kobe. The monkey of winning without Shaq may be off Kobe's back, but he still needed that dominant big man to get the job done. This is THE team game.

Every year, every nutbag with a computer and a complete lack of imagination writes some version of the following: David Stern wants the Lakers and (fill in the blank team here) in the Finals. You know the refs are gonna make that happen. The NBA is rigged. It's no better than pro wrestling. .......... Now, you know where you're reading this, and you may know what I do for a living. So you can dismiss this as butt-covering by a league apologist who works for one of its television partners, or that I doth protest too much. Can't stop you if your car is already going down that road. But over 25 or so years in this profession, I like to deal in things that us fancy-pants reporters call "facts."

Dear Fellow Non-Lakers Bloggers and Non-Lakers Fans, It's been said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And today - and through Sunday night only - I am seeking your friendship and rooting interest on behalf of my beloved Denver Nuggets. Because we desperately need your help. You see, as many of you have experienced in recent years, we are on the verge of being yet another small market franchise to be knocked out of the playoffs by the Evil Empire known as the Los Angeles Lakers.