The struggling, depleted Los Angeles Lakers will look to pull off a surprise win as they host the 2nd seeded Denver Nuggets at Staples Center!
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are pretty much out of the Playoff race by now after they picked up yet another bad loss to the Clippers on Monday as they were defeated 113-105 and had fallen to 4 games below .500 for the first time this season at 30-34. The issues are clear, the team is not healthy, there is a massive lack of effort and they look like one of the worst teams in the NBA at the current time. During that loss to the Clippers, the Lakers lost Kyle Kuzma to an injury who will be out for this game, furthermore Brandon Ingram has been dealing with a sore shoulder and is questionable, Lance Stephenson and Chandler are also questionable while Lonzo Ball continues to be out so when it comes to injuries it’s pretty much obvious that the Lakers just can’t get healthy which has pretty much destroyed their season. There has been talk about LeBron James potentially sitting out games, but he has said that he plans to finish the season and should definitely play tonight. For Lakers to win against Denver a lot has to go right and it all starts with effort because their effort has been disgraceful. Defensively they must fix up especially, plus their bench has to actually do something because the bench has been a joke lately. Lakers are 1-1 against Denver this season and had beaten them at Staples, but they were healthy and actually looked like a team then instead of the dysfunctionality that we see now. It seems unlikely that the Lakers will win unless they fix up their effort and LeBron James goes for a very high scoring night in 40s/50s especially if Ingram can’t play alongside Kuzma.
Injury Report
Kyle Kuzma – OUT
Brandon Ingram – Questionable
Lance Stephenson – Questionable
Tyson Chandler – Questionable
Lonzo Ball – OUT
Denver Nuggets
Denver have lost momentum themselves lately just being 5-6 in last 11 and coming off a 3 game losing streak including a couple bad losses at home to Utah and New Orleans. Denver have fallen off defensively lately which has caused this dip in form, but eventually we expect them to get back to business and go on a run again as this run of games is nothing but a blip. Nuggets are currently still the 2nd seeded team at 42-21 and are just 1.5 games behind top seeded Warriors meaning they’re still within a good chance to get the 1st seed. Denver are pretty much at full strength at this point only missing Porter JR who hasn’t played all season and role player Trey Lyles. Nuggets have been up and down on the road at 15-15 and are 1-4 in their last 5 on the road which can be considered as one of their few weaknesses this season. In the end, Denver are still expected to beat the reeling Lakers despite their up and down road performances and recent dip in form. With a win Denver can get within 1 game of Golden State so it’s quite an important game to end the losing streak and get closer to Golden State. Expect Nikola Jokic to dominate tonight as he historically has always seemed to play well against the Lakers who have struggles with rim protection.
Injury Report
Trey Lyles – OUT
Michael Porter JR – OUT
Betting Stats
Totals
Lakers have covered only 25.8% of their total point overs at home this season which is the worst percentage in the NBA. Total for this game is 231 points and it’s a total they’ve not had before at home, however they’ve had a 230.5 point total once before against 76ers which ended in an Under as Lakers lost 105-121.
Nuggets are also bad at covering total point overs on the road this season at just 36.7% (11-1-18). Nuggets have not had a 231 point total on the road this season. The closest total that they’ve had to that was 230.5 points against Philadelphia which they ended with an Under in a 117-110 loss.
Handicaps
Lakers have covered 38.7% of their Handicaps at home this season (12-19) which is one of the worst percentages in the NBA. Lakers are a 5.5 point underdog in this game. Lakers have had a +5.5 Handicap twice at home before failing to cover both in 100-107 loss to OKC and 107-118 loss to the Clippers. They also had a +5 Handicap against Milwaukee also failing to cover in a 120-131 loss. Lakers are 2-7 at covering Handicaps as home underdogs this season.
Nuggets have been poor at covering Handicaps on the road themselves at just 36.7% this season (11-19). Nuggets have however covered a -5.5 Handicaps both times that they were given it on the road this season in wins at Orlando and Dallas by the scores 124-118 and 114-104.
Recent H2H in Los Angeles
Lakers have been able to get the better of Denver at home lately beating them 4 consecutive times at Staples Center.
Most recently, the Lakers beat Denver 121-114 early in the season at home this season at home. In that game Lakers covered a +2 Handicap, just the one of two Handicaps they covered as underdogs while total 235 points resulted with the Void as both teams totalled the exact amount of points given.
TIP OFF – 7th March 2019 – 3:30am UK Time
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