Nuggets Look to Sweep the Lakers… Again
The Nuggets vs Lakers Odds Have Denver Readying the Brooms
The Nuggets vs Lakers odds have Denver favored at -3 and -198 on the moneyline, effectively leading to a second-straight sweep. The total is set 217.5. Let’s look at this matchup and see where we can find some value in the sportsbook.
Look at recent NBA scoreboards from this series and something becomes very clear: the Denver Nuggets are primed to make a run to the NBA Finals 2024. After going up 3-0 in their first-round series with the Lakers, the Nuggets NBA odds to win the championship are +230.
Each game in this Nuggets-Lakers series has followed a similar pattern. The Lakers come out strong, taking an early game lead and going into halftime up. Then, the Nuggets turn up the intensity, separating themselves in a third or fourth-quarter run and winning the game.
Let’s look at these Nuggets vs Lakers odds to find key matchups and betting trends.
Nuggets vs Lakers 
Records: Los Angeles Lakers (47-35), Denver Nuggets (57-25)
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Day/Time:
Streaming: ABC
The Games So Far
Game one was a decisive win for the Nuggets 114-103. They rallied behind a 32-point, 12 rebound game from Nikola Jokic, and set the tone for the series. Anthony Davis put up a strong showing of 32 points and 14 rebounds.
In game two, the Lakers gave the Nuggets their best punch. LeBron had 26 points, D’Angelo Russell chipped in 23 and Anthony Davis dropped 32. It still wasn’t enough for the Lakers to hold on to a 20-point second-half lead. The Nuggets clawed back through a 20-rebound triple-double and late-game heroics and the game-winner from Jamal Murray.
Game three had a very similar look to game one. The Lakers couldn’t hold on to early control and a run to start the second half was all the Nuggets needed to hold the lead for the rest of the game. The Nuggets got 20-point double-doubles from Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray added 22 points and nine assists.
Anthony Davis had another big game in game three with 33 points and 15 rebounds while LeBron added 26 points and Austin Reaves added 22. Without another Laker scoring in double digits, the Lakers just never had enough punch to get back into the game.
Who Will Step Up?
Now that we’ve looked at the past games in the series we can make better decisions in our game four bets. Let’s look at some NBA player statistical trends and see how the prop bets have been falling.
One player who has been on a tear this series, and over his last few games is Anthony Davis. Davis has hit his points in all three of the games this series. On Thursday his points line was set at 25.5 and he scored 33 points. Davis has now gone over his points total in five of his last six games.
Another player who has bested his points prop over the first three games is Michael Porter Jr. With the Lakers having to put so much focus inside on stopping Jokic, MPJ has taken full advantage of his extra spacing and has been getting buckets. After game three’s 20-point outing, Porter has scored 18 or more in each of his last four games where he plays 30 or more minutes. MPJ has also been active on the boards this series, hitting his rebounds over in each of the last three games.
Although both of these guys have been on a tear, we could easily see Davis and even Porter not scoring up to the level they set in the first three games. Games when teams are down 3-0 often result in blowouts, so it’s difficult to believe these trends will stay the same.
*Eleven https://t.co/Wg3yxbLkyE
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 26, 2024
Nuggets Go For Kill Shot
The Nuggets vs Lakers odds favor Denver for a reason. Denver has taken a commanding 3-0 lead in the series and will look to end their first round early and give themselves plenty of rest before continuing their march toward another NBA championship. We see Denver with a good chance to close this series out on Saturday.
The Lakers will play with not only the desperation of an elimination game, but game four will have added weight as the Lakers have now lost eleven games in a row to Denver and will want to do anything they can to prevent the embarrassment of two consecutive sweeps at the hand of Denver.
The Nuggets are currently -20000 to win the series and the Lakers are +4000 to come back from 3-0 and shock the basketball world.
Nuggets vs Lakers Lines
For NBA playoffs predictions, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
