After a couple days off the volatile Lakers return to action tonight at home against their frequent Western Conference sparring partners, the Denver Nuggets. Last we saw the Nuggets they were pushing the Lake Show to seven games in the first round of the playoffs last year. In retrospect, that series was the beginning of the end for Mike Brown.

So far this season the Nuggets have not been as good as I thought they would be. They're just 8-8, though admittedly they've played their share of quality opponents and 11 of their 16 games have been on the road. Ty Lawson, Andre Igoudala and Danilo Gallinari, the three who lead Denver in minutes played, have all been just OK. The main problem (to the extent there is one, given early days and the weirdness of their schedule) is a team defense ranked 18th in efficiency.

In terms of injuries, Wilson Chandler is out with a sore left hip. On the Lakers' side of the health ledger, the Stevii remain unavailable to play. Otherwise sounds like everyone's a go.