Los Angeles Lakers (21-21) vs. Denver Nuggets (21-19)
January 15, 2022 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Denver Nuggets -4.5; Over/Under: -221.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Los Angeles Lakers invade the Ball Arena to take on the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been in a slump lately as they’ve lost seven of their past 12 games and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting stopped by the Kings in a 125-116 road loss on Wednesday. LeBron James led the team with 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Malik Monk drained six 3-pointers to finish with 22 points while Austin Reaves chipped in with 19 points off the bench. As a team, the Lakers shot 42 percent from the field and 16 of 47 from the 3-point line as they led for most of the game after pouring in 67 points in the first half, but there was no stopping the Kings who exploded for 40 points in the third quarter to snatch the game from them in the second half. Russell Westbrook had a night to forget as he scored just eight points on two of 14 shooting while Avery Bradley scored just six points on two of nine shooting.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been in pretty good form as they’ve won five of their past eight games overall and they will be looking to stay hot after making light work of the Trail Blazers in a 140-108 home win on Thursday. Will Barton led the team in scoring with 21 points, Nikola Jokic tallied 20 points with eight rebounds and seven assists on eight of 10 shooting while Jeff Green chipped in with 19 points on nine of 11 shooting. As a team, the Nuggets shot a sizzling 62 percent from the field and 21 of 42 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 41 points in the first quarter to jump out to an early double-digit lead which only grew as the Nuggets’ bench ran riot to finish with 39 points in the fourth quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Lakers are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games playing on two days’ rest and 4-13 ATS in their last 17 games against a team with a winning record. The Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a win of more than 10 points and 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games following a win.
Head to head, the over is 25-10-2 in the last 37 meetings overall, the Lakers are 2-7-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Denver and the Lakers are 3-1-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall.
The Lakers will once again be without a list of players including Kendrick Nunn and Anthony Davis while Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard are both listed as questionable. The Nuggets are clearly the team in better form and they will take plenty confidence from their dominant win over the Trail Blazers on Thursday. The Lakers are only 2-7-1 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Denver and I think that trend continues here as the Nuggets get the win and cover at home.
