NBA Playoffs 2012: Why Denver Nuggets Will Complete Comeback Against LA Lakers

Last night the Nuggets showed exactly how they have been winning ball games all season.

Using their balanced attacks and multiple weapons, the Nuggets were able to rely on a variety of players at different points in Game 5 to force a Game 6 in Denver on Thursday night.

Whether it was Arron Afflalo's explosive start, or Javale McGee and Andre Miller's dominant second half performances, several Nuggets proved that they could take over the game for an extended period of time.

While the Lakers do have Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, their lack of depth has been exposed by Denver in their two losses, and it'll be something the Nuggets will look to take advantage of at home on Thursday night.

Here are the five reasons you'll see Denver complete the comeback and beat Los Angeles to move onto the second round in this season's NBA playoffs.

Denver's Play Down Low

Before the start of the series, pundits everywhere were proclaiming that the Nuggets did not have the big men they needed in order to compete with the likes of Andrew Bynum and Paul Gasol.

Early on, it seemed like they were right. Through games one and two, the Nuggets were struggling down low. Timofey Mozgov looked lost, Kosta Koufas was severely overmatched and Javale McGee was still figuring out how to adapt to playing head-to-head with a skilled center in Andrew Bynum.

As the series has progressed, however, Denver's bigs have come a long way.

McGee has become an incredible presence on the boards and a weapon on the offensive end, while Mozgov's defensive positioning has improved drastically.

Add in the fact that the undersized Kenneth "the Manimal" Faried has shown an incredible amount of heart in guarding Paul Gasol and still being a presence on the glass (the 6'8" forward is averaging 10 rebounds per game, and raked in an impressive 15 boards in Denver's Game 3 victory).

With the improving play inside, the Nuggets are starting to neutralize one of Los Angeles' few advantages in the series. If this continues, there is no reason to believe they can't win Games 6 and 7 to advance to the second round.

The Fast Break

It's no secret that Denver likes to break out and run.

It plays perfectly to their speed, depth and youth.

When Denver is able to use their fast break consistently throughout a game, they're able to put up an incredible number of points and drain their opponent's energy.

In their two wins against the Lakers so far, the Nuggets have taken nearly every turnover or missed shot and pushed the pace. With George Karl emphasizing the fast break more and more as the series progresses, there is no reason to believe the Nuggets will take their foot off the pedal.

Point Guard Play

While I have nothing against Ramon Sessions or Steve Blake, the Lakers point guard combo has badly been outplayed by Denver's combination of Ty Lawson and Andre Miller.

The Denver point guard tandem has combined to average 28.2 points per game, which is nearly 10 more than the Lakers point guard duo.

And while some will point to the fact that point guards aren't necessarily relied upon to score the basketball, the Nuggets points guard are also averaging five more assists per game than the Lakers point men (12.4 to 7.4).

Andre Miller is also the veteran leader of a relatively young Nuggets squad and showed his poise down the stretch in Denver's Game 5 victory.

The Bench

The other major advantage the Nuggets have is depth.

Game in, game out, the Nuggets bench has outscored the Lakers backup unit.

With Javale McGee, Andre Miller and Al Harrington all coming off the bench to contribute for the Nuggets, the starters have had plenty of time to rest and re-gain the energy they spend playing a high tempo style game.

Though Harrington has not yet played as expected, the other two have more than made up for it, and should he begin to contribute at the rate the Nuggets had hoped, there is no doubt that the Nuggets should be able to win Game 6 at home and pull out a hard-fought victory in Game 7 on the road.

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