The Denver Nuggets are right back at it after dropping their NBA Cup game against the Dallas Mavericks last night. There was no time to mourn Denver effectively being eliminated from Cup contention as they immediately left Ball Arena to get on a plane to Los Angeles where tonight they play the Lakers. L.A. is off to a strong start this season behind the play of Anthony Davis and currently has a record of 10-5. Of course, the Lakers also have LeBron James and have got some solid play out of rookie Dalton Knecht. The Nuggets have beaten L.A. in twelve of their last thirteen contests but there’s not reason to think tonight will be easy.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (8-6) at Los Angeles Lakers (10-5)
When: 8:30 PM MST
Where: Investment Bro Arena. Los Angeles, CA.
How to watch/listen: Altitude TV where available. NBA TV. NBA League Pass for those not in the Nuggets market. Altitude+. Altitude Radio 92.5 FM. Roll up to the arena in a Rolls Royce (3 year lease, $2650 a month payments), a cheap suit and sunglasses talking about all the money you’re going to make off LBJ coins and security probably walks you right through the velvet rope.
Rival blog: Silver Screen & Roll
The Matchup
| Position | Nuggets | Lakers | Advantage |
| PG | Jamal Murray | Dalton Knecht | Even |
| SG | Christian Braun | Cam Reddish | Nuggets |
| SF | Peyton Watson | Austin Reaves | Lakers |
| PF | Michael Porter Jr. | LeBron James | Lakers |
| C | Nikola Jokic | Anthony Davis | Nuggets |
| Bench | Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Dario Saric, Hunter Tyson, Trey Alexander | D’Angelo Russell, Max Christie, Gabe Vincent, Christian Koloko | Even |
Injury Report*: Aaron Gordon – out (calf), Vlatko Cancar – out (knee), DaRon Holmes II – out (achilles); Anthony Davis – probable (foot), Jaxon Hayes – out (ankle), Bronny James – out (heel), Jarred Vanderbilt – out (foot), Christian Wood – out (knee), Quincy Olivari – out (ankle)
*The Nuggets injury report was not submitted at time of publishing
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Jokic vs AD
A primetime matchup on national TV between two leading candidates in the early MVP race tonight. Jokic has never had much trouble giving Davis the business but AD is also playing some of the best basketball of his career right now. Meanwhile the Nuggets are handing out real estate in the paint like they’re subprime lenders in 2008. Denver needs to give Jokic help and not solely rely on him to both contain Davis and secure defensive rebounds. Other guys have to step up tonight in both those areas.
The thing to remember: the Lakers will try to make a point
The Nuggets have been a bit flat over their last couple of contests. In the three game stretch without Nikola, the first two games they played at half speed and lost both. Then they found their energy and won the Cup game against the Memphis Grizzlies before getting Jokic back, immediately exhaling and taking their foot off the gas pedal…resulting in the loss last night to the Mavericks. Denver has L.A.’s number and that’s no secret to anyone in Los Angeles. The Lakers will try to make a point of it early and often that they can beat the Nuggets. Denver has to be willing to match that energy from the jump which is a tall task after flying into L.A. at 2AM.
The thing to bet: Jamal Murray over 20.5 pts (-115)
The pendulum has swung the other way with Jamal to the point we’re now getting pretty good odds on hitting 21 points. Look, I know what you’re thinking, your faith in Jamal is shot, you’re not taking any action on him until he shows some consistency and that’s a fine approach. Personally though, I know the early season struggles piss him off. I know how badly he’ll want to show out in L.A. tonight and with Jokic on a B2B after being out for a week I don’t expect Nikola to be super aggressive so the opportunity is there for Jamal to get points. I also think given that Michael Porter Jr. has had some big games recently against L.A. that he’s going to garner more attention from the Lakers defense and they are more or less going to make Jamal beat them. Challenge accepted.
