Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets 12/16/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers do battle at the crpyto.com Arena on Friday night.

The Denver Nuggets have been in great shape as they’ve won seven of their last 10 games overall and they will be gunning for a fourth straight victory after blowing past the Wizards in a 141-128 home win on Wednesday. Nikola Jokic led the way with 43 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and five steals, Bones Hyland added 23 points and six assists on eight of 11 shooting off the bench while Aaron Gordon chipped in with 22 points. As a team, the Nuggets shot a sizzling 65 percent from the field and four of 16 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 38 points in the first quarter to take the early lead, before they exploded for 39 points in the fourth quarter to pull away and win comfortably in the end.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in a funk as they’ve lost four of their last five games and they will be eager to bounce back after falling just short to the red-hot Celtics in a 122-118 overtime loss on Tuesday. Anthony Davis led the way with 37 points and 12 rebounds on 13 of 24 shooting, LeBron James added 33 pints with nine rebounds and nine assists while Russell Westbrook chipped in with 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. As a team, the Lakers shot 47 percent from the field and eight of 29 from the 3-point line as they got off to a slow start and had to claw their way back from a 20-point deficit, only to come up short in overtime where they managed just eight points.

Looking at the betting trends, the Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record, 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games following a win of more than 10 points and 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. The Lakers are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games playing on two days’ rest, 4-1-1 ATS in their last six home games and 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games overall.

Head to head, the over is 29-11-2 in the last 42 meetings overall and the Nuggets are 1-4 ATS In the last five meetings in Los Angeles. The Nuggets are going to be a little shorthanded again as Michael Porter Jr is still out, while the Lakers should be just about at full strength for this one except for Wenyen Gabriel and Juan Toscano-Anderson who are both out. These teams have already met twice this season with each team winning at home and I’m expecting that trend to continue as the Nuggets are only 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings in Los Angeles. James and Davis have been massive for the Lakers lately and I think they should be just good enough to get the important win at home.