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The Los Angeles Lakers make the trip to Mile High as they challenge the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night.
This is a battle between the top two teams in the Western Conference this season. The Lakers have the best record in the West at 40-12 and they are 22-5 on the road this season. Los Angeles heads to this game with four wins in their last five outings. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are 2nd in the West with a record of 38-16. They are 21-6 at home and a win here would narrow the gap between them and the Lakers. These teams split their first two meetings of the season.
Fourth Win in Five Games
The Los Angeles Lakers picked up their fourth win in their last five games played when they defeated the Phoenix Suns 125-100 on Monday night. Los Angeles currently leads the Western Conference with their 40-12 SU record and they are three games ahead of the Nuggets in the conference team standings.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Suns. Rajon Rondo had a big scoring game with a season-high 23 points while LeBron James had 17 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. Dwight Howard also had a big game with 14 points and 15 boards for the purple and gold.
The Lakers rank 7th in the league in scoring at 114.6 points per game. They are 4th overall in the passing game with an average of 26.3 assists per game this season and are 7th in rebounding at 46.2 boards grabbed per contest. Los Angeles has the 6th best scoring defense in the league at 107.2 points per game allowed this season.
Second Best Team in the West
The Denver Nuggets are the top team in the Northwest Division with their 36-18 SU record. Denver is also the second-best team in the West and they are just three games behind the Lakers in the Western Conference leaderboard. Denver heads to this game having won four in a row and they are coming off a 127-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
Jamal Murray scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth period as the Nuggets rallied from 23 points down to beat the Spurs. Paul Millsap, who like Murray jus came off the injured list, scored 22 points off the bench for Denver. Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 13 assists, and 9 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Denver is 16th in the NBA in scoring at 110.3 points per game. They are ranked 3rd in passing at 26.4 assists per contest and are 18th in rebounding at 44.9 boards grabbed per contest. The Nuggets have the 4th-best scoring defense in the league as they are allowing their opponents to score only 106.4 points per game this season.
Who Wins?
The Lakers are 4-1 SU in their last five games played. Los Angeles is 4-2 SU in their last six road games, and 11-2 SU in their last 13 games against the Western Conference. The Nuggets are 6-1 SU in their last seven games played. Denver is 4-0 SU in their last four home games, 5-0 SU in their last five games against the Western Conference, and 6-0 SU in their last six games against the Pacific Division. Head to head, the Nuggets are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Lakers.
Denver continues to win despite its injury situation. The Nuggets have won four in a row and six out of their last seven. Despite dealing with a short bench, they won a pair of back to back games. Mason Plumlee, Michael Porter Jr., and Will Barton won’t be available for this game.
The Lakers head to Denver with four wins in their last five outings. Los Angeles defeated Denver 105-96 at the Pepsi Center last December 3, 2019, to win their first meeting of the season but the Nuggets won at Staples Center last December 22, 2019, when the Lakers played without LeBron James.
Denver heads to this game as the hotter team between the two and they also have a solid 21-6 home record to boast. However, Los Angeles enters this game with a healthy lineup while Denver is missing three frontline players. The Lakers are also a strong 22-5 SU on the road this season. I like the Lakers to pull off the road win here against the banged-up Nuggets.
Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers
Other Bets to Make
Los Angeles is 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Lakers are 2-4 ATS in their last six games played on the road. Denver is 6-1 ATS in their last seven games played. The Nuggets are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games played at home. Head to head, the Nuggets are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Lakers. Denver is also 5-1 ATS in their last six home games played against Los Angeles.
Lakers
-1.5(-110)
Nuggets
+1.5 (-110)
Odds from Bet365 as of 02/12/20
Los Angeles leads the league in second-chance points and they have their massive frontline to thank for that. Denver’s frontline is short-handed with Mason Plumlee, Michael Porter Jr. and Will Barton on the injured list. I think that the Lakers will win this game by scoring more inside points and cleaning up the garbage. Give me the road team here.
Prediction: Lakers -1.5
The total has gone over in 11 out of the last 15 games played by the Lakers. The over is 8-2 in Los Angeles’ last 10 games played on the road, and 7-0 in their last seven games against the Northwest Division. The total has gone over in five out of the last six games played by Denver. The over is 3-1 in the Nuggets’ last four home games, and 4-1 in their last five February games. Head to head, the total has gone under in four out of the last six games between these two teams.
Over
N/A
Under
N/A
Odds from Bet365 as of 02/12/20
The Nuggets play with the second slowest pace in the league and they have held two of their last four opponents to under 100 points. With that slow pace and with good defenders like Jerami Grant and Torrey Craig, the Nuggets should be able to slow down the Lakers. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is just 13th in pace and they have allowed 102 or fewer in half of their last four outings. These are two very good defensive teams and both don’t shoot too many from three ball so I don’t expect this to be a high-scoring game.
Prediction: Under
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