
Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction 10-24-23 NBA Picks
Denver Nuggets (0-0) vs Los Angeles Lakers (0-0)
2023-10-24 19:30:00 EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Denver Nuggets -4.5 -- Over/Under: 228
(Get latest betting odds)
The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets meet Tuesday in NBA action at the Ball Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a western conference finals appearance and enter year 2 under coach Darvin Ham. The Lakers will obviously go as far as LeBron James and Anthony Davis take them, but they made a lot of moves to improve the depth. The Lakers added Gabe Vincent, Christian Wood, Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish, giving them 4 legit role players who can shoulder some of the load. Getting a full season of Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell will also help now that they’re fully in the system. The Lakers have the pieces around their stars to make a run, and it’s why they have top-5 odds to win the title at most books. Health with LeBron is key.
Denver Nuggets Betting Preview
The Denver Nuggets are coming off their first NBA title and enter the ninth season under coach Michael Malone. The Nuggets watched Bruce Brown. Jr., Thomas Bryant and Jeff Green leave in free agency. The Nuggets didn’t do anything noteworthy to replace those guys, meaning they’re counting on Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray leading the way again. That’s about as good of a starting lineup as it gets in the league, so while there may be depth concerns, the Nuggets have to like their chances in a title defense. However, no team has repeat in the NBA since the Warriors did in 2017-18.
Randy’s Pick
The Los Angeles Lakers should have motivation in this spot after getting bounced from the playoffs by the Nuggets earlier in the year. The Nuggets also did a lot of talking about the Lakers once winning the title. The Lakers should have a point to prove. Also, it’s ring night for the Nuggets, so who knows if the home team comes out sluggish. With all that said, the Nuggets are still the more talented, deeper team that’s won 5 straight against the Lakers and 7 of the last 10 meetings overall. We’re not being asked to lay anything crazy. I like the Nuggets to pick up where they left off last season.