Second-year power forward Kenneth Faried has brought a ton of hustle to the Denver Nuggets. (GETTY IMAGES)

When the Denver Nuggets had no choice but to trade Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks in the 2010-11 season, Nuggets coach George Karl and general manager Masai Ujiri immediately went to Plan B.

The idea was simple: without a true superstar to build around, the Nuggets remade their roster with top-10 talent at every position. Basically, Karl and Ujiri went against the conventional thought that you need stars to set your team. Instead, they stockpiled the roster with superbly gifted athletes who were willing to share the ball and play a frenetic pace.

That high-speed, full-throttle basketball style was on display Monday night when the Nuggets ran the L.A. Lakers off the court. Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and Ty Lawson added 22 in the Nuggets’ 119-108 win, a game in which Denver outscored the Lakers 33-3 on the fast break and 78-50 in the paint.

”The fast-break points, that’s a killer,” Kobe Bryant said. ”That team is like a track team over there.”

The Nuggets are two-deep at every position and play at a remarkable pace that wears teams down, especially at home where they are 24-3.

”It’s tough to neutralize speed, especially when they’re very good at what they do,” Bryant said. ”Yeah, their speed. Their speed got us. They got out on transition, got easy buckets. Kept the pressure on us. We had to labor for opportunities, think we might have had two fast-break points. Contrast that with 33. It’s crazy.”

Anything and everything the Lakers tried to do to flip the size-speed disadvantage only backfired on them.

”You have to almost over-exaggerate getting back on defense,” Bryant said. ”Literally, nobody can go to the offensive boards.”

It starts with point guards Ty Lawson and Andre Miller. Lawson is the engine that drives the Nuggets fastbreak. He’s the player with the 100-mph fastball, the type of player who can single-handedly affect a game with his blinding speed. Backing him up is the 35-year-old Miller, a savvy veteran who plays at a much slower place. Miller is the off-speed pitcher who relies on guile rather athletic ability.

Andre Iguodala, who was acquired from Philadelphia last season, is an upgrade from Aaron Afflalo. Iguodala is a versatile swingman who plays both ends of the floor and fills the stat sheet. He’s backed up by Corey Brewer, a good defender who has greatly improved his 3-point shot.

Danilo Gallinari came over from New York in the Anthony trade. Gallo is not afraid to take big shots down the stretch, and he’s the closest thing the Nuggets have to a fourth-quarter closer. He’s backed up by Wilson Chandler, who spent the lockout-shortened season in China.

The Nuggets found a gem in the 2011 NBA draft in Kenneth Faried. The player known as The Manimal is a relentless athlete who doesn’t need set plays to make an imprint in a game. His effort and energy is infectious, and Denver fans absolutely love his hustle. Faried is an undersized power forward (listed at 6-8 but probably closer to 6-6), but more than makes up for his lack of length with a Dennis Rodman-like motor. He’s averaging nearly double-double this season (12 points, nine rebounds).

Karl starts Kostas Koufus at center, and rotates him with JaVale McGee and Tim Mozgov. Koufus and Mozgov are space-eaters, while McGee is a shot-blocker who may be the most athletic big man in the NBA. And his wingspan is ridiculous. Oftentimes, McGee ignites fastbreaks with his shot blocks, and he can run the floor like a wide receiver. If he ever develops a go-to shot in the low block he could become an All-Star.

‘They continually pushed the ball down our throats,” Bryant said. “Shots go up and those guys are already leaking out, to go along with the speed. They got a lot of easy buckets because of it.”

Denver is currently in the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference, battling the Clippers and Grizzlies for the third spot. The Nuggets will be a tough out in the playoffs, especially if they somehow gain home-court advantage in the first round.

Lakers big men Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combined for 39 points and 35 rebounds in Game 7 against the Nuggets. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

George Karl summed up Saturday’s thrilling Game 7 playoff battle between the Lakers and Nuggets at Staples Center. The Denver coach said the Lakers’ size proved to be too much for the Nuggets’ speed.

Size over speed. That was the difference between the Lakers advancing to the next round and the Nuggets going home. And one sequence was the defining moment of the night.

It happened with about seven minutes left in the fourth quarter with the Lakers clinging to a 76-75 lead. Kobe Bryant missed a short jumper from the free throw line, but Andrew Bynum kept the play alive when he tipped it off the backboard. Then came a incredible tip drill by Pau Gasol. The 7-footer had his hand on the ball seven times before finally securing the rebound and a put-back for a 78-75 Lakers lead. Gasol jogged back to the other side of the court belting out a primal scream that riled up the Staples Center crowd.

The play summarized how the Lakers were able to eliminate the pesky Nuggets in the first round, it also energized a Lakers squad that seemed to have lost some of their mojo after an embarrassing Game 6 loss in Denver two days ago.

“You just saw the hunger,” Lakers guard Steve Blake — who had 19 points off the bench — said about Gasol’s remarkable effort. “On that one possession it looked like he fought for like four, five taps before he finally got. And when he made it man he flexed his muscles, gave us some hope, some confidence and energy.”

It was a complete turnaround for Gasol, who had just three points in Game 6. In Game 7, however, he finished with 23 points, had 17 rebounds, six assists, and four blocked shots to power the Lakers to a 96-87 victory.

“We just played hard throughout the game, and pounded the boards,” Gasol said. “We stuck with it. Our energy and intensity was a lot better on both ends of the floor.”

He added, “I just wanted to bring a better effort than what I brought in Game 6. I’m not a player than can put up three points and three rebounds in one game. So I just made a conscientious effort of coming out harder and play at the fullest from the beginning.”

The other half of the Hollywood Hills, Bynum, also had a more determined effort on the boards. Bynum grabbed 18 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end. He and Gasol combined for 20 of the Lakers’ 24 offensive rebounds in the game. Bynum also had 16 points and six blocks.

“[The Nuggets] made a conscientious effort to double team me from everywhere so it left them open under the basket for second-chance opportunities. Because of the rotations they were able to seal down low and get second and third chances at the basket,” said Kobe Bryant, who had 17 points and a team-high eight assists in 45 minutes.

“We also did a much better of utilizing me on screen-and-rolls. Rolling Pau and rolling Andrew,” Bryant said. “They were catching the ball on the move, and the defense can’t just sit on them.”

Nuggets guard Ty Lawson flexed his muscles in Game 6 against the Lakers and had a career game. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Ty Lawson set the tone for Game 6. He made his first four shots and never stopped getting buckets.

The Denver point guard said he got some advice from his shooting coach, and it worked. He made 13 of his 18 shots from the field, including 5-for-6 from 3-point range, to lead the underdog Nuggets to a convincing 113-96 victory in Denver to tie the Lakers-Nuggets series at 3 games apiece.

“We were up until 12 o’clock last night putting shots up. The basket looked big, and it went in for me,” said Lawson, who had been on a  mini-shooting slump with just 11 and nine points the last two games (9-for-25) after brilliant games in games 1 and 2.

Nuggets coach George Karl said one small adjustment allowed Lawson to get his confidence back.

“We showed on film on how he was shooting the ball more flat than up. After making his first couple of shots he has that confidence,” Karl said of Lawson, who finished with a game-high 32 points.

Karl said the blowout victory in Game 6 belonged to the players, especially his young point guard from North Carolina. “Ty and I would always joked about our [North] Carolina careers, on how we always play big in big games. This was a big game, the biggest game probably he’s ever played in. And Saturday will be even bigger.”

The Saturday game Karl was referring to is Game 7 in Los Angeles after the Nuggets forced a seventh game after being down 3-1 in the first-round series.

“We knew we could beat them as long as we follow our game plan,” Lawson said. “Game 7. L.A. Let’s go.”

The Lakers' terrific trio of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are poised to win an NBA title. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

After sleep-walking through the first two rounds of the playoffs and the first four games of the Western Conference finals, the Lakers are now fully caffeinated and wide awake.

Pau Gasol is fully stretched, Lamar Odom is back to form and Kobe Bryant looks unstoppable. To borrow a line from the popular Nike Most Valuable Puppets commercials that features Kobe and LeBron James … “What makes his unstoppableness unstoppable?” Nobody knows.

So, cue the Lakers’ championship parade. Bring back Mark Madsen and let him do a little reign dance in front of Staples Center. Give Jack Nicholson a chest bump. And find one of Hef’s Playmates and give her a smooch. As the late great Chick Hearn would say, “This one is in the refrigerator. The door’s closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butter’s getting hard and the Jell-O’s jiggling.” The Lakers are back in the NBA Finals and four victories away from a 15th NBA championship. It’s banner time!

When the Lakers are locked in on defense and playing with a high efficiency on offense, no team in the league – and that includes Cleveland and Orlando – that can stop them. The Denver Nuggets saw the Lakers at their best in Game 6 when the Lake Show dispatched the Nuggets, 119-92, on Denver’s home floor.

The domination was evident from the start. Trevor Ariza got the party started by hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter. After the Nuggets took a 31-30 lead thanks to J.R. Smith, the Lakers went back to work and the game became one-sided. When the Lakers kicked it into sixth gear, there was nothing the Nuggets could do. Kobe Bryant punctuated the first-half assault by swishing a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Lakers a 13-point lead right before halftime. Dagger!

“All through the series, I saw little cracks in the Lakers. Somehow we’ve cemented those cracks back up and I think they’re the best team right now in the NBA,” said Denver coach George Karl, who reluctantly congratulated the Lakers after they eliminated the Nuggets from the postseason.

As usual, Bryant led all scorers with 35 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the line. The Black Mamba, who also had six rebounds and 10 assists, showed Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith how to close out a series.

“Their offensive execution was the best it’s been all series, and their box defense kinda frustrated our offense,” Karl added. “Then No. 24 had a great five minutes at the end of the (half) that no one in basketball could have covered. He made about four shots during that stretch; I think Jesus would have had trouble covering him.”

Though Karl was mesmerized by Bryant’s holy game, Kobe was not alone in cutting up the Nuggets. Pau Gasol also flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and his proficiency in the post allows the other Lakers to get involved and creates a better balance on offense and defense.

“The last two games we really proved to ourselves and everybody else that we can be an extremely high quality team that deserves to be in the NBA Finals and is going for the NBA championship,” Gasol explained. “We have to do more of that. I think we have been a little inconsistent throughout the year with that. When we move the ball and use all of our weapons, we become really dangerous because the defense then hesitates and doubt if they double team Kobe or not, or go double team me or not and they’re out of balance. Hopefully we can keep it this way.”

Lamar Odom came off the bench to score 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Luke Walton enjoyed his best game of the series with 10 points. When Odom is actively involved in the game, teams have a really hard time matching up with the Lakers because it gives them three highly-skilled scoring options. A perfect triangle offense built to overcome any defense. “Whoever woke up Lamar Odom should be fired,” Karl joked. “I thought we had him contained, but he has been sensational the last two games.”

Karl hinted that when Bryant has is going offensively, Gasol is working his post-up game and the 3-point snipers are hitting their mark, the Lakers become unstoppable.

“We never got control of their post-ups,” Karl said as the Lakers made 43 of 75 of their shots from the field (57%) and were 9-of-16 from 3-point range (56%). “When we doubled it, they scored – the three or the two. And when we didn’t double it, they scored on the post-up. Offensively, they got into control of us more than we got in control of them.”

Right now, the Lakers are in complete control of their destiny and it would not matter who plays them in the NBA Finals because there is no stopping the Lake Show.

Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony combined to score 61 points for Denver in Game 2 in Los Angeles. (GETTY IMAGES)

Score one for Chauncey Billups. The chess matchup between the Lakers and Nuggets took a different turn in Game 2. Lakers Coach Jackson geared his perimeter defense to smothering Billups in Game 1, putting Kobe Bryant on him for much of the game, but Billups made the proper adjustment in Game 2 by being more aggressive off the dribble instead of settling for long-range shots.

Denver Coach George Karl should also get some credit for making a key adjustment, inserting 6-8 Linas Kleiza early in the game instead of 6-1 Anthony Carter. Kleiza rewarded Karl for the opportunity by providing some much-needed outside shooting, which opened up the court for Carmelo Anthony, and his length gave the Nuggets another rebounder.

Kleiza finished with 16 points in 21 minutes, making 4 of 7 threes, and grabbed eight rebounds. Because of Kleiza’s play off the bench and Billups’ leadership, along with Anthony’s brilliance on offense, the Nuggets were able to defeat the Lakers, 106-103, in Game 2.

“We had to win this game,” Karl said. “We’re a more mentally tough team. You look at us from last year and where we are now, it takes time to do that. They know what it takes, what it means to play hard and play with passion.”

As good as Anthony was – and Melo was an absolute beast with 34 points and nine rebounds – his offense was matched by Kobe Bryant, who scored 32 points to lead L.A. While Melo and Kobe were staging their own personal war on the court and ultimately cancelling each other out, it was Billups who stepped into the role of closer and figured out a way to beat the Lakers down the stretch. With the ball in his hands, the Nuggets were able to play more efficiently in the halfcourt set and Billups foiled the Lakers’ pick-and-roll defense by attacking the seams.

With the way the officiating was going with both teams were getting the benefit of some questionable calls, Billups basically put his head down and attacked the basket. As a result, he went to the free throw line 16 times in Game 2, converting 13 shots, and finished with 27 points. Basically, Anthony – who has 73 points in the first two games against L.A. – kept the Nuggets in the game and Billups won the game in the end.

“We’re a special team and we got a chance to do something really special,” said Billups, who committed just one turnover in 43 minutes. “Personally, I’m not worried about what they’re saying about the Lakers. They’re a great team. They’re the No. 1 in the Western Conference. I’m more worried about trying to help my team advance the best I can.”

Denver’s 1-2 punch of Anthony and Billups are two reasons why the Western Conference finals is tied 1-1 and the Nuggets now hold home-court advantage.

“We can’t wait to get back on our court. We’ve been in L.A. a little bit too long now. We want to get back home in front of our crowd,” Anthony said.