Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/20/2023

Game Time: 8:30 pm ET, Saturday, May 20, 2023

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

Where to Watch:  ABC

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Nuggets +5.5, Lakers -5.5; Over/Under:  223.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Nuggets +5.5, Lakers -5.5; Over/Under:  223.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Nuggets +5.5, Lakers -5.5; Over/Under:  223.5 points

Denver Nuggets:  53-29 (1st place, Northwest Division)

Los Angeles Lakers:  43-39 (5th place, Pacific Division)

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Denver Nuggets:  7-3 last 10

Los Angeles Lakers:  5-5 last 10

The Nuggets finished the regular season with a 53-29 record overall and they were 19-22 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 4 game winning streak with wins coming against the Phoenix Suns twice in a row and the LA Lakers in their last 2 games. In game 2 of this series, Jamal Murray led the team in points in that game with 37 while Nikola Jokić was next on the team with 23 points. Nikola Jokić led the team in assists in that game with 12 while Nikola Jokić led the team in rebounds with 17. They were 43.8% from the field, 36.8% from 3-point range, and 88.9% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 115.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 112.5 PPG against them. The Nuggets have an ATS record of 51-43-1 this season and their O/U record is 45-49-1.

The Lakers finished the regular season with a 43-39 record overall and they were 23-18 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game losing streak with both losses coming against the Denver Nuggets in their last 2 games. In game 2 of this series, LeBron James and Austin Reaves each led the team in points in that game with 22 while Rui Hachimura was next on the team with 21 points. LeBron James led the team in assists in that game with 10 while Anthony Davis led the team in rebounds with 14. They were 43.9% from the field, 26.7% from 3-point range, and 88.5% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 117.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 116.6 PPG against them. The Lakers have an ATS record of 50-46-1 this season and their O/U record is 51-46.

The current betting odds have the Lakers listed as a 5.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 3 of a 7-game series between the 1st seeded Nuggets and the 7th seeded Lakers for the Western Conference finals of the NBA playoffs. The Nuggets are entering this game with a 2-0 series lead after winning both of their home games in this series but the Lakers did fight hard in both of those games to make it very close in the end. Now the Lakers are at home for the next 2 games with a lot to do as they need to win both games to even up the series, but they were a better home team this season anyway while the Nuggets weren't great in their road games, even with a losing road record during the regular season. The Lakers are going to be pushing hard in this game to cut the series lead in half and since those first 2 games of the series were already close with the Lakers playing on the road and battling the Denver altitude, they will have a much easier time in this game and will bounce back on their home court here. The best way to place a bet here is on the Lakers to cover the spread in this game and make it a 2-1 series lead for the Nuggets.

Nuggets Lakers Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Saturday, May 20, 2023 (8:30 pm ET start time) is Lakers 117 Nuggets 109.

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Denver Nuggets: 11-23 ATS after 4 or more consecutive wins. 1-9 ATS after 4 straight games outrebounding opponents by 5 or more. 7-1 OVER after 2 straight wins by 6 points or less. 18-10 OVER in all playoff games. 

Los Angeles Lakers: 23-12 ATS revenging a same season loss vs opponent. 28-16 ATS after 1 or more consecutive unders. 9-3 OVER off 2 road covers where the team lost straight up as an underdog. 6-0 OVER off 2 or more consecutive road losses. 

Denver Nuggets:  C. Gillespie (PG) Late May - Leg.

Los Angeles Lakers:  M. Bamba (C) Out Indefinitely - Ankle.

“You win Game 1 and all everybody talked about was the Lakers. Let’s be honest, the national narrative was, ‘Hey, the Lakers are fine. They’re down 1-0, but they figured something out.’ No one talked about how Nikola just had an historic performance. He’s got 13 (playoff) triple-doubles now, third all-time. What he’s doing is just incredible.” - Michael Malone after his team’s win against the Lakers in their game on Thursday, game 2 of this series.

“Proud of our guys. They bounced back. We addressed a lot of the things that we said we were going to try to do better. Still got to be better in transition D. But overall the energy was there, the effort was there, the urgency was there, we just caught a bad stretch.” - Darvin Ham after his team’s loss against the Nuggets in their game on Thursday, game 2 of this series.

PG Jamal Murray

SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SF Michael Porter Jr.

PF Aaron Gordon

C Nikola Jokic

PG D'Angelo Russell

SG Austin Reaves

SF LeBron James

PF Jarred Vanderbilt

C Anthony Davis

PPG: N. Jokic (24.5)

APG: N. Jokic (9.8)

Reb/G: N. Jokic (11.8)

PPG: L. James (28.9)

APG: L. James (6.8)

Reb/G: A. Davis (12.5)

Coaches:

Denver Nuggets: Michael Malone (8th season)

Los Angeles Lakers: Darvin Ham (1st season)