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- What: NBA Playoffs first round
- Who: Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers
- When: Next game of the series – Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Where: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
- How to watch: TNT and Spectrum SportsNet
The 2024 NBA postseason is here and fans across the globe are dreaming about their top teams making the NBA Finals. The first round has plenty of interesting matchups, of course including the showdown between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. Yup, this series features Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and others. Having said that, the Nuggets are big favorites to beat the Lakers in the NBA playoffs. Will Denver be able to take care of business?
In Game 1, we saw just how dominant Denver can be on both ends of the floor, as they were able to post a convincing win. A lot of folks think they set the tone for the rest of the series, as the Lakers looked slow and sluggish at times. James had a strong game, but he’s going to need more out of Anthony Davis the rest of the way. As for Denver, they’re playing with a lot of confidence, which is bad news across the board for James and Co.
| Nuggets vs Lakers odds |  |  |  |
| Nuggets to win | -1250 | -1250 | -1250 |
| Lakers to win | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Over five games | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under five games | -110 | -110 | -110 |
“We have the championship trophy and everybody is trying to take it from us,” Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said before the series started. “You win a championship and now comes a very hungry Laker team who is pissed off that we’ve beaten them eight-straight times. We swept them last year. We swept them this year. They come in playing really well and hungry. They want to flip that script. Our players understand that. We know them, they know us. We know what to expect.”
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Nuggets hold -1250 NBA playoffs betting odds to take down the Lakers in this series. Los Angeles is a major underdog with its +900 NBA betting odds now that they’re down 0-2. While James is arguably the best player of all time, there’s just no way we think he can take LA to the next round. With that said, we’re going with the Nuggets as our pick to win the series and advance in the playoffs.
"The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-103, on Saturday night in Game 1 of the first-round series."
📰 https://t.co/iXYwuzB81v pic.twitter.com/IyRvqn0p8w
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 21, 2024
Nuggets hold strong odds to win the title this year
Looking at the postseason as a whole, the Nuggets hold strong odds to win the title this year. This shouldn’t come as a major surprise, as the Nuggets won it all last year and their star players are back this campaign hoping to repeat. Denver may be the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, but a lot of people think they’re the best team out West. It’s hard to argue with that, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are hoping to get to the Finals.
The hope is that these two teams will go on to meet in the conference title game. Should that happen, we think that Jokic and Co. will be able to take care of business. If Denver wins the West, fans would then be hoping that they’d meet the Boston Celtics with the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the line. The Celtics hold the best NBA Finals betting odds after they posted the best regular season of all the teams in the league, but Denver won’t stop believing.
Come for the Nikola dunk comp, stay for his reaction 😅 pic.twitter.com/NHlgUDBrcH
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 22, 2024
“We’re not going anywhere,” Malone said after the Game 1 win over Los Angeles. “This is the playoffs. No team in the playoffs, if you get down 12 early, you’re not going to just take your ball and go home. We still have plenty of fight left in us and we know that we were better than what we were playing early. That’s a good team over there. They came into the playoffs playing extremely well, and they showed it.
Per the oddsmakers, Boston holds +120 Finals betting odds, while the Nuggets are right behind them at +280. Both of these teams have the talent to go all the way, which is why it’d be a dream Finals matchup if that were to happen. It will be interesting to see how things shape out for the rest of the postseason, but countless analysts think the Nuggets will be able to win the title for the second year in a row.
Denver should have no issues winning Game 3 over LA
With the next showdown right around the corner, Denver should have no issues winning Game 3 over LA. In Game 1, Denver was able to post a 114-103 win. Things got off to a bit of a surprising start, as the Lakers were at one point up double digits. This had a lot of Nuggets fans a bit worried that an upset would be on the way. However, the Nuggets were able to regroup and post an 11-point win. Then in Game 2, Jamal Murray broke LA hearts with his hame-winning shot.
With the next game being played in LA, the hometown fans are going to do whatever is needed to try and rattle Denver. That’s not easy to do, as we think the Nuggets will be able to keep playing at a high level. Denver is a strong favorite for Game 3 and we have a feeling they’re going to move up 3-0 in the series. After that, the Lakers will have a mountain to climb to try and get back into things.
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