The Los Angeles Lakers (31-46) host the Denver Nuggets (46-32) Sunday in the second of an ABC afternoon doubleheader. Tip-off at Crypto.com Arena is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Nuggets vs. Lakers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Both teams will be at peak motivation since each is jostling for playoff seeding. Denver is 2 games in front of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the sixth and final non-play-in seed in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles is on the outside looking in at the playoff picture in the West, currently in 11th place, 1 game behind the San Antonio Spurs for the 10th and final play-in seed.
The Nuggets lost their last outing Friday versus the Minnesota Timberwolves 136-130 in Denver, snapping a three-game win streak. The Lakers lost their fifth consecutive game Friday 114-111 to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Denver smacked L.A. 133-96 as a 4.5-point home favorite Jan. 15. Reigning MVP C Nikola Jokic had a 17-12-13 triple-double but the Lakers were without PF Anthony Davis.
Nuggets at Lakers odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:24 a.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Nuggets -160 (bet $160 to win $100) | Lakers +130 (bet $100 to win $130)
- Against the spread: Nuggets -3.5 (-108) | Lakers +3.5 (-112)
- Over/Under: 230.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Nuggets at Lakers key injuries
Nuggets
- PG Jamal Murray (knee) out
- PF Michael Porter Jr. (back) out
Lakers
- PF Anthony Davis (ankle) questionable
- SF LeBron James (knee) questionable
[tipico]
Nuggets at Lakers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Nuggets 121, Lakers 111
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” because the Nuggets (-160) will crush the Lakers Sunday but I’m confident enough in Denver to lay the points.
The Nuggets destroy bad defenses and L.A.’s defense is ranked 20th in adjusted efficiency for the season and 29th over the past two weeks, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
Denver is 21-3 straight up (SU) versus teams with bottom-10 defenses with a plus-11.1 adjusted net rating (ranked second), per CTG.
That said, I’ll bet Denver’s spread instead at a cheaper price point.
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Against the spread
BET the NUGGETS -3.5 (-108) for 1 unit because this is a profitable spot for them. Denver has the best ATS margin versus bottom-10 defenses at plus-5.8 (per CTG) and 8-4 ATS as 3-to-4.5-point favorites.
The Lakers +3.5 (-110) are 2-5 ATS as 3-to-4.5-point underdogs and 6-9-1 ATS at home versus teams with a winning record.
Denver is probably champing at the bit to put L.A.’s season on the brink. The Lakers eliminated the Nuggets in the 2020 Western Conference Finals en route to a title and Denver won’t feel sorry for L.A.’s injury woes since the Nuggets are missing two key players.
BET the NUGGETS -3.5 (-108) to put a beating on the Lakers.
Over/Under
LEAN to the OVER 230.5 (-108) because both teams have a bottom-five adjusted defensive rating in the last 14 days (per CTG), Denver is 21-16 O/U versus teams below-.500, L.A. is 18-14 O/U versus teams above-.500 and these teams have a combined 12-4 O/U record across each of their last eight games played.
However, I much prefer Denver’s spread, or even the ML, more than the total in this game.
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