On Thursday, the Denver Nuggets are on the road at the Los Angeles Lakers. The Denver Nuggets are tied for second in the Western Conference with their 35-16 record on the season. Denver has won back to back games, with their most recent on Sunday against Portland. In their last 10, the Nuggets are 7-3.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, they are 27-25 on the season. That is 9th in the Western Conference standings. The Lakers have won three straight games. Los Angeles is 6-4 in their last 10 games. On Monday, the Lakers went to Charlotte and beat the Hornets by 6 points.
The Denver Nuggets are -3.5 on the road in this game.
Looking for Back to Back
The defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets are right in the mix within the Western Conference. The Nuggets have played solid basketball as of late, and are looking to finish the first half strong. Denver is scoring more than 114 points per game, and allowing teams to score 110 per game.
The Nuggets are led by MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. The big man is scoring 26.3 points per game, playing in nearly 34 minutes per game. Jokic also leads the team with 9 assists, and more than 11 rebounds per game. In a recent win over Portland, he and Jamal Murray was the anchors to complete the two game sweep.
Denver is on the road for three straight games. The Nuggets are at the Kings and Bucks after this, and then will finish the first half of the season at home against the Sacramento Kings on Valentine’s Day.
Lakers Seeking Fourth Straight
The Los Angeles Lakers have started to find their stride again. This is the same team that won the inseason tournament in December. Since then, the Lakers struggled, falling under .500. Now, the Lakers will look to improve upon their 17-8 home record.
LeBron James is having a monster season for the Lakers once again. The future Hall of Famer is scoring 24.9 points per game, and dishing out 7.6 assists per game. Big man Anthony Davis is just behind him, at 24.7 points per game. Davis is making nearly 55.5% of his shots. The Lakers will need to go 16-14 to match their win total of a season ago.
Los Angeles is at home on Friday as well; as they will welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to town. Then on Tuesday, the Detroit Pistons pay a visit, followed by a trip to Utah for the final game of the first half.
Wild One in Los Angeles
The Nuggets should win this game over the Lakers. But, the Lakers are playing good basketball right now, and it will be an emotional night. Look for the Lakers to give a great effort, and actually come down to the wire. When we go to bet on this game, we are going to take the Los Angeles Lakers to cover the spread. Bet the Lakers +3.5 over the Nuggets in this game on Thursday.
