Yes, there’s no Pau Gasol, who is out with a hamstring injury. Yes, the Lakers are playing the second game of a back-to-back.
But the Nuggets are still looking forward to matching up against the NBA champions to see just where they stand in this young season.
“Absolutely,” guard Chauncey Billups said this morning after the Nuggets’ shootaround. “A win is a win, no matter what. But when you play against a team that is the defending champs, the best team in the world right now, you can take a lot out of it. Anytime you play a team like that, you’ve got a lot to gain.”
The Nuggets are in the pack of teams trying to dethrone the Lakers, who have won the Western Conference the past two seasons. Last year, the Lakers eliminated the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals and went on to win the NBA title.
Tonight’s 8:30 p.m. tipoff is the first of four regular-season games between the teams. The Lakers don’t return to Denver until April 8.
Asked whether the game can be a measuring stick for the Nuggets even though the Lakers are shorthanded and fatigued from playing Phoenix on Thursday night, Nuggets forward Chris Andersen said, “Yeah, exactly. It don’t matter. We just gotta go play, play as a team.”
The Lakers arrived in Denver early this morning and did not have a pregame shootaround today.
“They’re still a good team,” Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo said. “We’ve had guys down. That’s just a part of the season. You’ve got to get out there and compete, it’s a very important game for us, regular season or not. We’re all looking forward to it.”
The Lakers have beaten the Nuggets in six of the past seven regular-season meetings and 14 of the past 17 overall, including playoffs. The Lakers are the only NBA team that owns a winning record in Denver, 41-29 all-time. But the Nuggets are 4-2 at home against the Lakers since the end of the 2005-06 season.
At least one Nugget — Kenyon Martin — isn’t putting too much stock in the outcome of tonight’s contest.
“It’s just one game early in the season,” Martin said. “Of course you want to play well, but we’re not saying this is going to make or break our season if we don’t get it done. Of course we’re going in with a lot of energy, a lot of effort because we need a win. But what can we learn? I don’t think we can learn nothing. If it was the playoffs, it would be a different story. But right now it’s all about us trying to get better.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
