Key Western Conference Showdown on Tap in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Lakers try to snap a five-game losing streak when they welcome the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in a key game for both team’s playoff hopes.
The Nuggets come in tied for fifth place in the Western Conference with the Utah Jazz, with the seventh-place Minnesota Timberwolves two games behind.
The Lakers currently sit outside of the playoff picture, trailing the 10th-place San Antonio Spurs by a game coming down the stretch of the regular season. Both teams are fighting to improve their positions, so this one will have playoff intensity and you’ll want to check out our in-depth preview before you decide on how to bet online on the game.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and NBA odds for Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers. We have plenty of predictions for you to consider.
Nuggets Trying To Avoid Play-In
The Denver Nuggets had a key game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night and fell to the visitors, putting a possible drop to the play-in tournament on the table. The Timberwolves are hungry to move into the playoff field, and the Nuggets don’t want to fall in the standings and have to play their way into the postseason in the play-in tournament.
To do that, they’ll need to put together some wins, and that starts with NBA MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. The All-Star center has been fantastic, and he’ll need to keep it up down the stretch. Jokic is in the league’s top 10 in scoring (10th at 26.6 points), rebounding (second at 13.6) and assists (eighth at 8.0), and he’s coming off 38 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists against the Timberwolves.
Jokic has really hit the boards recently, averaging 15.7 rebounds over the last four games, including two 19-rebound efforts.
Forward Aaron Gordon has been scoring more of late, hitting the 20-point mark in four of the last five games. The high-flying Gordon is averaging 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds on the season.
The Nuggets have also received a boost from the play of guard Monte Morris, who is coming off 23 points and six assists against Minnesota. Morris is averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 assists per game.
Lakers In Desperate Need Of Wins
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2021-22 season as one of the favorites to win the title, but they are closer to being a lottery team than a title contender. Injuries have been a major problem but so has chemistry. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis back in the lineup on Friday night, the Lakers dropped a close home game to the New Orleans Pelicans, one of the teams they’re pursuing in the West.
“It’s going to be tough to catch (New Orleans) now, with the lead they have and the tiebreaker,” Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said after Friday’s loss. “But we have plenty of time to win as many games as we can down the stretch and see what happens with San Antonio.”
The Lakers don’t have an easy schedule the rest of the way, with Sunday’s game followed by dates with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors, and the regular season wrapping up by a return date with the Nuggets in Denver next Sunday.
Davis came back on Friday night after missing six weeks and was effective with 23 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. He’ll need to be just as big of a presence in this one as well as a defensive problem for Jokic, who he’ll likely be matched up with.
James also came back on Friday after missing two games and had 38 points and eight rebounds. His ankle is still an issue, as he’s considered questionable for this game, but it’s hard to believe he won’t be on the floor with so much at stake. James is leading the NBA in scoring with 30.3 points per game while also averaging 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
Nuggets at Lakers Head-to-Head
The Denver Nuggets dominated in their first meeting this season with the Los Angeles Lakers, taking a 37-point victory in January in a game that Davis sat out of. Jokic had a triple-double and befuddled the Lakers throughout the contest.
Los Angeles won the season series a year ago, taking two of the three meetings, and has won five of the last eight regular-season meetings as well as the teams’ matchup in the 2020 Western Conference finals. The NBA lines are being quite generous in this one considering how the Lakers are playing of late, making the Nuggets only a slight favorite on the road.
Nuggets at Lakers Game Information
- Game: Nuggets (46-32) at Lakers (31-46)
- Location: crypto.com Arena
- Day/Time: Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Nuggets at Lakers Betting Lines
Nuggets at Lakers Prediction
The Los Angeles Lakers certainly have the more talented team on paper, but they have not been able to put things together as a team this season, even when they’ve had all of their All-Star players. The Denver Nuggets have one of the hottest players in the game in Jokic, and they should find a way to pull this one out on the road
When doing your NBA betting, take Denver to win and cover.
Pick: Denver Nuggets -3 (-110)
