Editor's Note: Breath a Sigh of Relief

Now that the series with the Rockets is over and the Lakers have prevailed, we are given a short day to breath a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, that day ended as I was writing this post. With an unbelievably short amount of time to prepare, the Lakers will play Denver tomorrow to begin the Western Conference Finals. Due to the recent play by both teams, the Lakers do in fact enter the game as somewhat of underdogs. But they can still win, and win handely. Chauncey Billups is good, but not as fast as Aaron Brooks and won't give Derek Fisher fits with his speed. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum stand to have an easy time against Nene Hilario, and Kobe will eat up J.R. Smith. But Carmelo Anthony can be trouble for Trevor Ariza, and the bench will have a tough time containing Chris Anderson. Billups is always a plus, and Kenyon Martin is consistent. The Lakers will not coast through this series, but thanks to Houston, they can be well-prepared.