DENVER — Right now, the Lakers have chemistry, a whole bunch of feel-good and, most importantly, a series lead that might be surmountable only via chair lift.

Thankfully for the Nuggets, there are a few of those idling around here. And they have one more chance Monday night to prove they can stand up to something other than a middle-aged man in a referee's outfit.

The road back from down 3-0 is a long one, particularly against a Lakers team this sure of itself, a team succeeding in part, Lamar Odom explained Sunday, because "we all love each other so much."

The Lakers sure do act like it, sharing the ball — 92 assists in this series compared to 54 for Denver — and the points (five players in double figures and two more with nine in Game 3).

But to understand how cohesive and unselfish this team has become, especially since the arrival of Pau Gasol, consider the action the team's new center took Saturday — during a timeout, no less.

Gasol, all 7-foot of him, stood atop a folding chair on the bench so he could see over his teammates at what Coach Phil Jackson was drawing.

Understand, he was in the game at the time. This is the Lakers' starting center, OK, a man making nearly $14 million this season and even more valuable than that to the team's potential future success.

Displaced by the likes of Ira Newble, Gasol gladly and without a word took to climbing on the Pepsi Center furniture.

"Yeah, I guess I've earned a better spot than that," he said. "But the guys not in the game were really into it at that point for some reason. I didn't want to push anyone out of the huddle. Guys like Mr. (DJ) Mbenga had me boxed out."

These Lakers certainly are a dynamic group, even relying on props when necessary. As a result, so far in this series, they've made the Nuggets look like something less than a 50-win team, doing so in a variety of colors.

They've won playing at their pace and at the Nuggets' pace.

They've won playing at their place and now at the Nuggets' place.

They've won with Kobe Bryant scoring 49 points and with Bryant scoring 22 points.

They've won with Gasol starring (36 points, 16 rebounds in Game 1) and with Gasol supporting (18 points, 10 rebounds in Game 2).

On Saturday, they won despite Derek Fisher somehow having zero assists in 32 minutes and Gasol strangely not grabbing his second rebound until the fourth quarter.

They won twice at Staples Center with offense and once here with defense. In Game 3, seven Lakers had steals.

"A lot of weapons," Gasol said. "We have so many guys who can do good things. We have a third, fourth and even fifth option. We trust each other. When we're having success on the court, we know there's a good chance we'll win at the end."

And when Luke Walton is finishing with more field goals than Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, the Lakers have to be in a good place.

That's what happened in Game 3, the good place turning out to be an 18-point victory.

"The big thing is we have shot-makers," Odom said. "We have Pau and Kobe as the stars, but then we have a bunch of guys who can make shots and make plays. That's how our offense is built. That's how this team is built."

The Nuggets have three players who have been All-Stars compared to two for the Lakers.

The Nuggets are the ones with the former league MVP and the one-time Defensive Player of the Year.

The Nuggets had two players in the top four in scoring this season, twice as many as the Lakers had.

Yet, here everyone sits today, Lakers up 3-0.

During the regular season, these teams were separated by only seven games. The gap between a No. 1 seed and a No. 8 is supposed to be greater than that. So far in the postseason, that gap has been.

"They have so much talent, but they don't play that much as a team," Gasol said. "I'm sure they're disappointed right now. It is frustrating, believe me."

He knows about facing the sour end of 3-0. Before this season, that's all Gasol knew.

He made the playoffs with Memphis three times, and the Grizzlies were swept from each in round one.

"It's not a great atmosphere," Gasol said. "It's not pleasant."

But it's the reality Denver faces, along with a Lakers team featuring much diversity, and not just because their rotation includes a Spaniard, a Slovenian, a Serbian and a guy from Arkansas.

No, what we're talking about is the Lakers' ability to win in a lot of ways. It's only fitting that afterward, they can discuss it in a lot of languages.

Contact the writer: jmiller@ocregister.com

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