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The Denver Nuggets host the LA Lakers for a battle in the West! It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Nuggets-Lakers prediction and pick.
The Denver Nuggets have turned the corner. They are a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the 2nd seed in the Western Conference with a (17-10) record. The Nuggets have won three straight and are coming off a win against the Washington Wizards 141-128. Nikola Jokic scored 43 in the win and added 14 rebounds and eight assists to go along with his massive game. Denver is 1-1 against the Lakers this year with LA winning the last one.
The Boston Celtics broke the Lakers' hearts once again after completing the late comeback to win in overtime 122-118 last time out. Anthony Davis scored 37 points in the loss and LeBron James tallied 33. Jayson Tatum put up 44 in LA as he continues to give them fits after they passed on him in the 2017 NBA Draft. Back to today, the Lakers host another tough team as they aim to get back on track and closer to .500.
Here are the Nuggets-Lakers NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Nuggets-Lakers Odds
Denver Nuggets: -1.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Lakers: +1.5 (-110)
Over: 237.5 (-110)
Under: 237.5 (-110)
Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread
The Nuggets come into this game close to as healthy as they could get. Michael Porter Jr. is the only player out as he deals with a left heel strain. The Nuggets have done a great job of spreading the wealth which is the reason why they have seen a ton of success this season. Seven players average north of 10 points per game and six will be active tonight. If Bones Hyland, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Bruce Brown play well then they will be in a good position to cover this spread.
The team runs on Nikola Jokic with Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray forming a solid core-3. Jokic is a rebound per game shy of averaging a triple-double on the season and has proved to carry this team all by himself. Now that Murray is back healthy and Gordon is producing at a high level, we're all witnessing how good this team can be. The Nuggets are fresh off 141 points and have scored at least 115 in their last four games.
Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
This is a crucial game for the Lakers. We saw them defeat Denver back in late October as the third matchup of the season is upon us. James and AD will both play, however, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Wenyen Gabriel will not.
LA is trying to avoid another losing streak and they desperately need their role players to step up to help avoid it. Outside of James and AD, the next best scoring options are Lonnie Walker IV and Russell Westbrook, who combine for 30.4 points per game. That just isn't good enough. Austin Reaves is averaging north of 10 per game but Thomas Bryant, Dennis Schroder, and Troy Brown Jr. need to start contributing offensively. Schroder and Brown are playing more than 24 minutes per game but aren't doing much to help offensively combining for 14 points per game. LA is dead last in the NBA in 3-point percentage at just 32% from beyond the arc.
The defense is another issue. They are 25th in opponent points per game allowing an abysmal 116.6 per game. It doesn't seem like the aggression or effort is there as teams have found a ton of success creating chances against this Lakers' defense. AD is doing all he can averaging 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks on the year. LeBron is averaging 1.3 steals but just 0.6 blocks per game. Outside of Westbrook, they aren't giving teams much of a reason to stop being aggressive.
Final Nuggets-Lakers Prediction & Pick
The Nuggets are the favorites by a slim margin and I think it's worth taking. Denver is the better team despite the Lakers' desperation for a win.
Final Nuggets-Lakers Prediction & Pick: Nuggets -1.5 (-110)
