NBA: Los Angeles Lakers VS Denver Nuggets Pick and Predictions 01/09/2023

Game: 9:10 PM ET,  Monday, January 9th, 2023

Venue:  Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado

TV:  NBA League Pass

Lakers: 19-21, 12th place Western Conference

Nuggets: 26-13, 1st place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Nuggets -9.5, O/U 240.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Nuggets -10, O/U 240.5

Fanduel: Point Spread:  Nuggets -10, O/U 240.5

Lakers: SF Juan Toscano Anderson, PF LeBron James, C Thomas Bryant, PG Dennie Schroder, SG Patrick Beverley

Nuggets: PF Michael Porter JR, SF Aaron Gordon, C Nikola Jokic, SG Kentavious Caldwell Pope, PG Jamal Murray

An NBA Western Conference battle between the hottest team in the West and the 1st place team in the West.  You have that right!  The Los Angeles Lakers buried deep in the standings are on a 5-game winning streak and all five games were wins ATS as underdogs!  They also did it all without big man C Anthony Davis.. Who they will always have to do it without because he is so injury prone.  What the Lakers do have is THE BEST PLAYER of all time in PF LeBron James. LeBron recently turned 38 and is closing in on the all-time scoring rate… only he isn’t doing like Kareem and Karl Malone… LeBron is not a shell of himself from years ago… He is the best player in a bad team but would be the best player on 90% of any NBA team.  The Denver Nuggets are not one of those teams LeBron would be best player on.  They have 2X NBA MVP C Nikola Jokic… who is now having the sort of season that may make him the 3X NBA MVP… of course LeBron could tell him about the 3-4 seasons that LeBron got robbed of the MVp because the writer’s who vote wanted someone new… but still Nikola is undeniable.  He is having loads of great games but finally he is having them for the 1st place team in his conference!  The great betting opportunity in this game is wherever we find the numbers landing… and also the Lakers are very due for a loss.

The Los Angeles Lakers are 5-0 in their last 5 games… while being winners of 6 of their last 10 games.  The streak is great… They are all wins ATS, but they are also much needed wins to just make the Lakers relevant.  They have jumped from the 14th spot to the 12th spot to the anger of Pelicans fans who are watching Laker ping pong balls.  IN their last game they beat the Sacramento Kings 136-134.  In that game PF LeBron James had 37 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists… Center Thomas Bryant who is a wild card, because he will be gone when Anthony Davis returns, got 29 points 14 rebounds and ZERO assists, 6th man of the year Russell Westbrook had 23 points 5 rebounds and 15 assists in 33 minutes!  The team is alive… even PG Dennis Shroeder has been proving why he was offered 88 million that he should have never turned down with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. The team is alive without Anthony Davis and that is all that LeBron can hope for considering ADs health.

The Denver Nuggets have won 8 of their last 10 games.  They are on a 2-game winning streak They are 8-2 ATS over their last 10.  The person making this all responsible for a 1st place team is C Nikola Jokic.. In the Nuggets last game they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-108.  In the win Jokic had 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists in a BIG triple double!  6 other Nuggets scored in double figures.  The team has overall been waiting for health and have recently got it.. The trio of PF Michael Porter JR, PG Jamal Murray, and SF Aaron Gordon… need health and playing time to support Nikola in his journey… If any of them stray from this path they should be shipped out pronto!

 

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LAL: 19-21, 18-21-1 ATS, 24-16 O/U, 9-13 in road games.

DEN: 26-13, 20-19 ATS, 20-19 O/U, 16-3 in home games.

The Lakers are 5th in scoring with 116.8 points per game, 7th in rebounds with 45 per game, 22nd in AST/To ratio with 1.7, 14th in blocked shots with 4.8 per game.

The Nuggets are 17th in scoring with 116.7 points per game, 17th in rebounds with 43.2 per game, 3rd in AST/To ratio with 1.9, and 21st in blocks with 4.3 per game. 

Our prediction for Monday, January 9th is…. Nuggets 122 - Lakers 108

Bet on the Nuggets.  The Nuggets do not lose at home very often and they do not lose ATS at home very often.  The Lakers are really on fire but they are still a team waiting to figure out who will step up in any game.  The Lakers have NO person on the healthy roster that can match up with Nikola Jokic, let alone even put up a fight.  Blow out is likely.

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Denver is 3-1 ATS versus the Lakers in Denver the last 3 seasons.

The Lakers are 2-8 ATS when playing their 3rd game in 4 days this season.

The Lakers are 1-6 ATS after allowing 130 points or more their last game, this season.

Lakers: SG/SF Austin Reeves.  Austin is not LeBron.. Bug he is a guy who is instilling regret in every team with a second round pick two seasons ago.  He went undrafted and is frequently the 3rd or 4th best scorer in all Laker wins and losses. Anyone could have had him.. They didn’t the Lakers finally won something.

Nuggets: C Nikola Jokic.  There is no other reason to watch any Nuggets game than to wonder how many points Nikola will have with his great statline?  He will have a lot with Thomas Bryant as the only Center the Lakers have to put against him!  You should be looking for 35-12-9 or better.

Lakers: Darvin “I thought this would be better” Ham

Nuggets: Michael “ I’m here forever” Malone