NBA Playoffs 2012: Andrew Bynum, Lakers Must Continue to Be Physical vs. Denver

The Denver Nuggets can easily get swept out of the first round. The battles down low are complete mismatches in favor of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Andrew Bynum exemplified this after he swatted away 10 blocks to go along with his 10 points and 13 rebounds to become the first Laker to record a triple-double in a playoff game since Magic Johnson did it in the 1991 NBA Finals.

The Lakers are just too big with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum clogging up the paint defensively and imposing their will on Denver bigs Kosta Koufos, JaVale McGee and Timofey Mozgov. These three guys may stand at 7'0" or taller, but they are nowhere near as tough as Bynum and Gasol.

The skilled Lakers big men are going to be the key for not just this series, but for the rest of the Lakers playoff run. They need to continue to rely on Bynum and Gasol defensively and they should even pound it inside on offense to use their size advantage to expose defenders. 

Even Jordan Hill stepped up once again, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds off the bench. Hill's emergence has been a welcome sight for the Lakers and Mike Brown is rewarding him with increased playing time. Hill stands at 6'10" and he's the big the Lakers have needed to come and provide solid play off the bench in the paint. 

Hill relieves pressure off Bynum and Gasol, who can now rest on the bench knowing that Hill will be a stout contributor on both sides of the ball.

With all of that being said, the Lakers have shown signs of complacency in the past when things look easy for them. They can't fall into that trap.

They have the skill and talent to make this a short series, but they must continue to be physical. Bynum, Gasol and even Hill must be consistent in their efforts in taking advantage of the Nuggets' lack of size and strength. 

If the Lakers take care of business in the paint, everything will fall into place. It's their biggest advantage in this series other than having Kobe Bryant. 

And one certainty in this series is that Kobe is going to be bringing his A-game every night. However, if the Laker bigs fall into bad habits and don't do what they're expected to do, things can get ugly and this series could be prolonged.

It's extremely crucial that Bynum plays like the man who grabbed 30 rebounds against San Antonio earlier this year, not the boy who took out J.J. Barea in a terrible performance against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of last year's quick playoff exit.

All signs show that he will continue to do so. When the magnitude of the games increase, Bynum and Gasol collectively shine and this is great news for Lakers fans.