Lakers hope to exploit absence of Nuggets’ big men

The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets forged a rivalry through the playoffs over the past six seasons, so when they play in the regular season it carries more meaning.

That rivalry will be renewed Tuesday night when Los Angeles visits Denver for the first of three meetings in the regular season.

The Lakers have scuffled lately, losing five of six games before beating Toronto 110-93 on Sunday night. The slump dropped Los Angeles to sixth in the competitive Western Conference standings midway through the regular season.