I was just doing some stat checking and came across something interesting.

I wanted to compare the Lakers record against the Nuggets, using only games that may matter come playoff time. I realize that winning against sub .500 teams is necessary to get good seeding, but once the playoffs begin, we won't be seeing a single team that hasn't won at least 50% of their games.

So over the last 47 (Nuggets) and 48 (Lakers) games, here's how the two teams have handled their biz:

Nuggets vs. Western Conference Playoff-bound teams: 9-3
Lakers vs. Western Conference Playoff-bound teams: 7-6
Nuggets vs. +.500 teams (both conferences): 21-8
Lakers vs. +.500 teams (both conferences): 18-10
Denver only has a losing record against one +.500 team: Dallas.
LA has a losing record against five +.500 teams: San Antonio, Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, and DENVER!

Or if you prefer to see it by team (based on current standings), below I have a crappy table showing how well the +.500 teams are faring against both Denver and Los Angeles.

EAST vs. DENVER vs. LAL
Cleveland (37-11) 0-1 2-0
Orlando (31-16) 0-1 0-1
Atlanta (30-16) 1-1 0-1
Boston (29-16) 0-0 0-1
Toronto (25-22) 0-1 1-0
Charlotte (24-22) 1-1 0-0
Chicago (23-22) 0-2 0-2
Miami (24-23) 1-1 0-1

WEST vs. DENVER vs. LAL
LAL (37-11) 0-1 --
Denver (32-15) -- 1-0
Dallas (30-17) 1-0 1-2
Utah (28-18) 0-3 1-1
San Antonio (27-19) 0-2 1-0
Portland (28-21) 0-1 1-0
Phoenix (27-21) 1-1 1-2

New Orleans (26-21) 1-1 0-2
--------------------
Houston (25-21) 0-2 1-2
Memphis (25-21) 1-1 0-0
Oklahoma City (25-21) 1-1 0-3