Tag: Denver Nuggets

LeBron James on Anthony Davis: ‘He’s the Defensive Player of the Year’

Los Angeles Laker LeBron James on teammate Anthony Davis this season: ‘He’s the Defensive Player of the Year’

Anthony Davis entered the Los Angeles Lakers matchup with the Denver Nuggets battling flu-like symptoms. But that didn’t stop him from slowing down All-Star center Nikola Jokic and making key stops at the rim when it mattered most. In addition to scoring 25 points and collecting 10 rebounds, Davis was huge down the stretch defensively and held Jokic to just 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting with five turnovers.

Following the Lakers 105-96 win over the Nuggets that improved their record to 18-3 on the season, LeBron James continued to sing A.D.’s praises on the defensive end of the floor. James finished with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds while declaring Davis the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year during his media session after the game.

“He’s been doing it all year,” LeBron said of Davis according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Playing through injuries, playing through illness like he did tonight. He’s the Defensive Player of the Year, and he showed tonight once again playing one-on-one versus ‘Joker’ in the post.

“When there were switches, going on with Jamal Murray, playing one-on-one versus a small. Got stop after stop after stop. Just a monster game for him.”

Seven of A.D.’s rebounds came on the defensive end and he also finished with one block while earning a game-high plus/minus of +11. The Lakers as a team held Denver to 40% shooting from the field and just 20% from 3-point range. A.D. is now averaging 2.7 blocks per contest which is good for second in the NBA overall behind Jonathan Isaac at 2.8.

Los Angeles will continue their road trip tonight when they meet a Utah Jazz team that will be another tough test–especially on a back-to-back. The Jazz are currently at 12-9 on the season and feature a unit that ranks among the top-10 in the NBA in defensive rating. While their offense has struggled thus far, the Jazz are still led by Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert who the Lakers will need to meet with energy and effort once again defensively.

Anthony Davis (flu) received IV fluids at halftime of win over Nuggets

Tuesday night may go down as the Anthony Davis Flu Game for the Los Angeles Lakers after what he went through on Tuesday.

The stage was set for Tuesday night to go down as The Anthony Davis Flu Game and with his performance in the closing moments of the Los Angeles Lakers 105-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets, he did exactly that. After the game, more detail came out about Davis’ heroic performance.

Although Davis wasn’t the only player who was reportedly dealing with flu-like symptoms, he did receive an IV in the Lakers locker room during halftime of their win against the Nuggets, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Davis finished the night with 25 points, which tied his teammate LeBron James for a game-high. Davis made several huge plays defending the rim in the last few minutes but he also did an excellent job disrupting Nikola Jokic for most of the night as the All-Star center had an off-night from the field.

In addition to the two superstars, the Lakers got a nice lift off the bench from Dwight Howard (12 points, six rebounds), Rajon Rondo (11 points, six rebounds and six assists) and Alex Caruso (Six points, four rebounds, team-high plus-11).

Now the Lakers are off to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

LeBron James leads offense, Davis leads on defense to win at Nuggets

LeBron James and Anthony Davis made big plays down the stretch to hold off a Nuggets come back to get the Los Angeles Lakers another win.

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t shoot all that well and they looked like they were in trouble at times, but their superstars made huge plays late to show once again that they are the class of the Western Conference through the first quarter of the season.

Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds while LeBron James had 24 points and nine assists, but the two stars made the key plays late after the Nuggets pushed them down the stretch.

James came through with a huge putback dunk on a miss by Davis to put the Lakers up 112-106 with just over a minute left in Tuesday’s win. The Lakers also made several key stops in the final few possessions, with Davis–who entered the game with flu-like symptoms–stoning the Nuggets three times at the rim in the final few minutes and also doing an excellent job on star center Nikola Jokic (13 points, 4-12, five turnovers, eight assists).

The Lakers started out hot and ended the first half with the same conviction, as the starters for the Lakers pushed them to a 60-49 lead at halftime of their showdown against the Nuggets. After hearing questions about their schedule in the first 20 games, the Lakers responded with one of their best halves of basketball on both ends so far this season.

But the Nuggets, being a very tough team in their own right, fought back to turn this early December showdown of the two best teams in the West into a regular season classic.

But the Lakers don’t have much time to rest as they will get on a plane shortly after the game as they head to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz for the second night of a back-to-back.

 

Nuggets coach Malone believes Lakers are ‘on a whole other level’

Nuggets coach Mike Malone and LeBron James go way back, but the praise of the Lakers sounds very genuine.

Tuesday night’s game between the two best teams in the Western Conference–the No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers and the No. 2 Denver Nuggets–is likely the biggest challenge the Lakers have faced through 20 games. However, the head coach of the Nuggets provided some motivation for his team as he believes they’re not on the same level as LeBron James and the Lakers.

Malone told reporters on Monday that the Lakers were on a “whole other level” than the Nuggets and anybody else in the Western Conference, according to Altitude’s Katy Winge.

Malone’s respect for the Lakers is also a personal one as he and LeBron James go back to the days when Malone was an assistant coach on the Cleveland Cavaliers during LeBron’s first run in Cleveland.

Still, it’s interesting to hear the coach separate his strong squad from the Lakers as a contender. But being that the Nuggets are a much younger team than this veteran Lakers group, the extra motivation from the coach may prove useful as they attempt to give the Lakers their fourth loss of the season.

In addition to tonight likely being the toughest game on the Lakers schedule to this point, it’s also the start of a stretch where they will play eight of their next nine games on the road.

LeBron James and Lakers roll into Denver to face No. 2 Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t looking past anyone as they head into a 3-game road trip that begins Tuesday.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis stated the goal of their team this season following Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks that they’d not lose two games in-a-row this season. But more than the Lakers stated goal, Tuesday night will be characterized by a showdown between the two best teams in the Western Conference.

At 17-3, the Los Angeles Lakers visit the 13-4 Denver Nuggets who surprisingly have the league’s best defense. Much of the storylines about the Nuggets have been about what they can’t do, but through the first part of the season, they have shown they can absolutely disrupt things defensively, even against the most fluid of offenses.

Jokic also presents a fantastic cognitive challenge for the centers on the Lakers. While Davis is reticent to embrace the role of center, Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee can step in to provide a lot more physical resistance to Jokic. They’ve been great this season, especially Howard. Howard’s activity and athleticism may prove to be the biggest challenge for Jokic, but the Lakers center position must give him activity from the jump.

The Lakers definitely have a lot of different bigs to deal with Jokic but their guard and wing depth will once again be challenged Tuesday. Alex Caruso has played well but his skill may be spread thin against a deep Nuggets squad. Danny Green, Troy Daniels, Rajon Rondo, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can help him attempt to stabilize the backcourt, but this game just like any in the future, won’t be decided on paper.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been a key complementary starter

With his shooting and defense, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been a key starter for the Lakers recently.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made his ninth straight start Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers’ 10-game win streak ended as the Mavericks won 114-100.

Caldwell-Pope didn’t score in double figures for a third straight game in the loss. But during the Lakers’ win streak, Caldwell-Pope shined.

During those 10 games, Caldwell-Pope made eight starts. In his eight starts, he scored 11.8 points per game on 54% shooting from the field, per Basketball Reference. 

Caldwell-Pope has showed he can be a key complementary starter recently. In the previous eight starts before Sunday, Caldwell-Pope shot 51.5% from the 3-point line. He scored seven points and went 1-of-2 from the 3-point line in Sunday’s loss.

While Caldwell-Pope is one of the Lakers’ best shooters, he is also a solid defender. He isn’t necessarily a lockdown defender, but he does well containing his opponents as best as possible.

In the video below, Caldwell-Pope struggled at first to get through Dwight Powell’s screen, but he recovered well and helped JaVale McGee force a bad pass from Luka Doncic.

 

Caldwell-Pope began the season on the bench, starting only one game in the Lakers’ first 11 contests. That was for good reason, though, as Caldwell-Pope didn’t show any sort of consistency.

He particularly wasn’t the threat he’s capable of being offensively, scoring 5.3 points per game in the Lakers’ first 11 games.

During those first 11 games, he posted three games where he didn’t make a shot from the field.

Now, though, as the Lakers lose their first game since Nov. 10, Caldwell-Pope has shown the Lakers are perhaps better off with him in the starting lineup.

During Caldwell-Pope’s previous eight starts, the Lakers shot an average of 40.5% from the 3-point line, well above their season average of 35.8%. During his eight starts over the 10-game win streak, Caldwell-Pope was the Lakers’ top 3-point shooter three times.

Caldwell-Pope’s role could end up being similar to the one J.R. Smith had with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the team’s 2016 title season. Smith shot 40.0% from the 3-point line during the regular season — it was the second-highest mark of his career from deep.

With the Lakers 20 games into the regular season, Caldwell-Pope is shooting a career-high 40.4% from the 3-point line.

Despite a slow start to the season, Caldwell-Pope has shown he will be integral for the Lakers’ future success.

The Lakers will play the Denver Nuggets on the road Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST.

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Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Nuggets at Kings NBA matchup, with NBA betting odds, picks and best bets

The Sacramento Kings (7-10) entertain the Denver Nuggets (13-3) Saturday with tip-off coming just after 5 p.m. ET at the Golden 1 Center. We analyze the Nuggets-Kings odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Nuggets at Kings: Key injuries

Nuggets

  • C Bol Bol (foot) out

Kings

  • SF Trevor Ariza (groin) out
  • PF Marvin Bagley III (thumb) out
  • PG De’Aaron Fox (ankle) out
  • PF Richuan Holmes (migraine) probable

Nuggets at Kings: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Saturday at 6 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Nuggets 110, Kings 102

Moneyline (ML)

The Nuggets have started off the season winning 13 of their first 16 contests. Denver is 5-1 on the road and 7-2 overall against the Western Conference. This is a Nuggets team that has won six straight and nine of 10.

The Kings are 4-3 at home but have lost two straight and three of four.

Hence, our pick is with the NUGGETS (-189).

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Denver returns a profit of $5.29 with an outright win.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The Kings are 4-3 at home ATS and 11-6 overall on the season. Meanwhile, Denver is just 8-7-1 overall and 3-2-1 on the road while allowing 0.2 points per game below the cover line. This becomes a razor-thin pick but the feel is that Denver can pull this off late via the foul line.

Back DENVER (-4.5, -106). The Nuggets will cover and win by five or more points on Saturday evening.

Over/Under (O/U)

The projected total is set at 203.5. Denver and Sacramento average less than 110 points per game typically but one of them will come close or hit 110 on Saturday Finally, Sacramento’s injuries may help Denver push a bit more offensively. It is why we are picking the OVER (-129) on a low projection.

A $10 bet here on the over returns a $7.75 profit.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Washington Wizards at Denver Nuggets odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Tuesday’s Washington Wizards at Denver Nuggets sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Washington Wizards (5-9) face the Denver Nuggets (12-3) Tuesday night with tip-off coming just after 9 pm ET at Pepsi Center. We analyze the Wizards-Nuggets odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Wizards at Nuggets: Key injuries

Wizards

  • C Ian Mahinmi (Achilles) out

Nuggets

  • C Bol Bol (foot) out

Wizards at Nuggets: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 10:15 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Nuggets 118, Wizards 112

Moneyline (ML)

The Nuggets have won nine of their last 10 games and face a Washington team which has lost six of its previous 10. The Wizards allow a lot of points — particularly during the second halves of games which should allow Denver to push through with a win.

Our pick is with the NUGGETS (-455), albeit at a chalky price.

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Denver returns a profit of only $2.20 with an outright win.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Washington is 5-1-1 against the spread on the road and covers by nearly seven points per contest. Denver is only 4-5 ATS at home and fails to cover by 1.2 points per game.

Back WASHINGTON (+10.5, -129). The Wizards can keep this a close game with their ability to produce points in bunches.

Over/Under (O/U)

The projected total is set at 225.5. The Wizards are the key here. They allow just over 120 points per game while scoring 119.1. Also, Washington is seventh in possessions per game at 107.4 and tied for sixth on the road. It will be close but the OVER (-121) is the better play as the Wizards will drive the pace.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Danuel House Jr. could miss time for Rockets with shoulder injury

Houston forward Danuel House Jr. (shoulder injury) could miss Friday’s showdown between the Rockets and Clippers in Los Angeles.

The Houston Rockets might not have forward Danuel House Jr. available for Friday’s nationally televised game at the Los Angeles Clippers after the 26-year-old injured his left shoulder in Denver.

Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen initially reported Thursday afternoon that House was doubtful to play in Los Angeles. In postgame comments late Wednesday, head coach Mike D’Antoni had said House would be re-evaluated Thursday.

The Rockets would likely start Ben McLemore at small forward in House’s absence, just as they did last week when House missed three games with a bruised back. At 6-foot-3, McLemore is considerably smaller than the 6-foot-6 House and offers less defensive versatility.

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However, a later update from the team identified House as “questionable” rather than doubtful, which could offer more hope.

Feigen said D’Antoni referred to House as “doubtful” prior to Thursday’s practice in Los Angeles, but the subsequent upgrade in status could indicate that he responded well to treatment.

Either way, the native Houstonian appears to again have a short-term injury without too much long-term concern.

House’s latest issue occurred during Wednesday’s second half in Denver, when he ran into a screen set by 284-pound Nikola Jokic.

House flexed his arm for several minutes on Houston’s bench, hoping he would be able to return to the game. However, he eventually left the court, and the team announced that he would not return.

Over an hour later in the postgame locker room, reporters said House still appeared to be in considerable discomfort.

In 12 games this year, House is averaging 11.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per game, and he’s been one of Houston’s top three-point shooters at 44.6%. His defensive rating of 104.0 is among the best of any player in the current Rockets rotation.

House’s potential absence could be critical against the Clippers, who are led by a pair of very long forwards in All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. If available, House would likely cover one of those players, with the other going to P.J. Tucker.

The Rockets did defeat the Clippers last week in Houston, even with House out. However, George did not play in that game.

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Nuggets coach Malone compares James Harden to Michael Jordan

Nuggets coach Michael Malone compared Rockets guard James Harden to Michael Jordan, adding that Harden is the hardest player to prepare for.

Both before and after Wednesday’s game between the Nuggets and Rockets, Denver coach Michael Malone showered praise on Houston guard James Harden — who he compared to Michael Jordan and says is the toughest player he’s ever had to prepare for in 19 NBA seasons.

Via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, here’s what the fifth-year head coach said before the game in Denver:

I think he’s seen every single conceivable defensive coverage and he demands that kind of attention. He’s a great player. I’ve been in the league 19 years and no disrespect to all the other great players in those 19 years, but he’s, I think, the toughest guy to prepare for.

He can hit the three. He gets to the foul line a ton. He makes his teammates better. He can create his own shot. If you want to force him left, he’s going to beat you. If you want to force him right, he can still beat you. He’s one of those guys when you’re watching film, it’s like you’re watching a horror movie.

Those comments mesh with NBA.com‘s annual GM survey for the 2019-20 season, in which the league’s identified Harden as the clear frontrunner in which current player forces the most adjustments.

Even with all that praise, though, Malone’s team did a fairly good job of limiting Harden during Wednesday’s 105-95 home victory by the Nuggets (10-3). It was the first time all season for the Rockets (11-4) to be held below 100 points.

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Harden did make 50% of his shots and three-pointers, and he also had seven assists. But the Nuggets used a unique and unpredictable scheme of traps and double-teams at different points of the shot clock from possession to possession to force him into eight turnovers.

They were also successful in limiting Harden’s overall volume, with his 16 shot attempts the fewest of any game this month in which the former Most Valuable Player (MVP) has played at least 30 minutes.

“Let’s be honest, you don’t guard James Harden just one on one,” Malone said postgame. “We threw multiple looks at him, multiple defenders at him. The goal was to get the ball out of his hands.”

As of Thursday, the Nuggets now rank No. 8 in the NBA in net defensive rating. For Harden in particular, lanky 6-foot-7 forward Torrey Craig appeared to give him the most trouble.

Harden wasn’t in the mood for giving Denver’s defense too much credit after the game, though, instead focusing on what he viewed as mistakes in execution by his team.

Though his scheme was fairly successful on Wednesday, the 48-year-old Malone remained very complimentary of Harden throughout his postgame remarks, and even brought in a comparison to Jordan — viewed by many as the best player in NBA history.

While it was a relatively down night overall, Harden still leads the NBA in scoring by a healthy margin at 38.4 points per game, with Giannis Antetokounmpo in second at 30.5 points.

That gap of 7.9 points is approximately equivalent to the gap between Antetokounmpo and Boston’s Kemba Walker, who ranks 17th in the league in scoring at 22.6 per game.

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