The Los Angeles Lakers are sportsbook favorites for Saturday night as they try again to eliminate the Denver Nuggets as the two teams meet at the Staples Center in Game 7 of their first-round set.
Denver picked up a 113-96 home win in Game 6 of the series on Thursday night to tie up the best-of-seven set at 3-3. Kobe Bryant played through illness to score 31 points for the Lakers that day and has complained about his teammates in the process.
The Lakers sport records of 41-25 and 27-39 ATS heading into this matchup, while the Nuggets sit at 38-28 and 36-30 ATS on the season. The OVER/UNDER records are 37-29 for the Lakers and 32-33-1 for the Nuggets.
View Denver vs LA Lakers Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
On the Sportsbook line for this matchup, the Lakers sat as 5-point favorites. The total had been pegged by the oddsmakers at 198.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game pits the Lakers, currently No. 7 in the Odds Shark NBA Power Rankings, against the Nuggets, who rate No. 18 in the most recent survey. Meanwhile, math and computer handicapping models run on this game predict a 103-101 victory for the Nuggets.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Los Angeles's No. 15-ranked offense (97.3 PPG) against a Nuggets defense that ranks No. 29 at 101.2 PPG. The Lakers have averaged 45.7% from the field per game, less than the Nuggets have managed so far this season (47.6% on average).
Defensively, the Nuggets feature the league's No. 29-rated defense on the road, allowing 103.2 points per game. Los Angeles, meanwhile, comes in at No. 16 in the league in scoring at home.
Los Angeles lost its last outing, a 113-96 result against the Nuggets on May 10. The Lakers failed to cover in that game as a 2.5-point underdog, while the 209 combined points took the game OVER the total. Kobe Bryant was dynamite, scoring 31 points and adding 2 rebounds but Denver still won, 113-96, over Los Angeles on Thursday at Pepsi Center.
Denver Nuggets Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 8-2
After playing LA Lakers are 6-4
After a win are 6-4
Los Angeles Lakers Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 8-2
After playing Denver are 4-6
After a loss are 8-2
A few Nuggets at Lakers trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Denver's last 12 games when playing LA Lakers
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Denver's last 11 games when playing on the road against LA Lakers
Denver is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Denver is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the LA Lakers last 6 games at home
LA Lakers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against Denver
LA Lakers are 19-6 SU in their last 25 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of the LA Lakers last 12 games when playing Denver
