The 2024 NBA Playoffs will tip off on Saturday and we’ll have an interesting first-round matchup in the Eastern Conference as the No. 2 Denver Nuggets will battle the No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers in a best-of-seven series.
This will be a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals as Denver swept LA on the way to the franchise’s first NBA title. The Nuggets went about their business as one would expect from the defending champs and Nikola Jokic put together another dominant season that could land him his third MVP award. Meanwhile, LA won 47 games in a rare year where both LeBron James and Anthony Davis played 70+ games. The Lakers still had to earn their way into the playoff bracket through the play-in tournament and did just that by knocking off New Orleans on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at some of our favorite series props for this matchup, with odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Nuggets vs. Lakers series props
Correct score: Denver wins series 4-1 (+285)
Denver has Los Angeles’ number, sweeping both last year’s WCF and this year’s regular season series. Barring a sudden injury to one of its key starters, I don’t envision this series lasting very long. The Nuggets managed to secure one of the top seeds in the West without having to overexert themselves and now that they are finally in the playoffs, we can expect the champs to lock in and kick things up a notch. However, the Lakers lineup is strong enough to steal one at home. A gentleman’s sweep offers a great payout.
Under 5.5 games in series (+120)
To piggyback off the above pick, I’d take the under on total number of games in this series. It’s a 2-2-1-1-1 format, so the Nuggets will have a chance to shut the door at home, where they posted a superb 33-8 record this season.
Exact series outcome (Winner of each game): DEN G1/DEN G2/LAL G3/DEN G4/DEN G5 (+700)
With nearly a week of rest, I’d imagine Denver wastes no time and jumps out to a quick 2-0 lead. With its backs against the wall, I believe LA can take Game 3 to briefly crawl back into the series. From there, Game 4 becomes a dogfight and in that situation, the defending champs survive to take a commanding 3-1 lead. And with a chance to close the door in Game 5, the Nuggets blow out the Lakers out by double digits.