Despite the Lakers outscoring the Nuggets by eight in the fourth quarter and despite 43 points from Kobe Bryant, the Nuggets found a way to stay alive in L.A. But was this loss actually a good thing for the Lakers?

On April 2, Metta World Peace’s elbow connected with James Harden’s beard in a move that would have made Hulk Hogan proud. He was suspended seven games by David Stern meaning he would miss the last regular season game along with six playoff games. Tonight will mark the last game of his suspension.

Once the Lakers win this series they’ll move on to play the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team the Lakers match up terribly with. The Thunder are one of the few teams that can deal with the size of the Lakers and no one on the Lakers can match up with Russell Westbrook. The Thunder also have Kevin Durant, the NBA’s three time scoring leader. Metta is the only Laker who has a chance of containing Durant.

Whether or not the Lakers win tonight, Metta will be back next game. Whether or not he can stay on the court is up to him.