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.
Denver enters the playoffs as the defending NBA champions and just fell short of claiming the top seed in the West. The Nuggets were able to go about their business through the regular season like you would expect a defending champion that returned most of its core. They impressively managed to win nearly 60 games even with Jamal Murray missing over a quarter of the season with various injuries. Nikola Jokic has a good chance at locking up his third MVP award as he averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and nine assists per game for the year.
Los Angeles enters the playoffs as the seven-seed in the West and is coming off a season where it experienced peaks and valleys. The peak for the Lakers was them defeating Indiana to win the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, but they immediately nosedived into a valley by losing 10 of their next 13 games. Fortunately for them, both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were healthy this season and played 70+ games. That, along with strong seasons from contributors like D’Angelo Russell, allowed for LA to climb back into the playoff hunt. The team managed to make the play-in tournament, where it edge New Orleans on Tuesday to grab the seventh spot.
Here’s an in-depth look at the matchup between the Nuggets and Lakers, along with our prediction for the series. All odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Nuggets vs. Lakers predictions
Odds to win series: Nuggets -310, Lakers +250
Regular season record: Nuggets 57-25, Lakers 47-35
Head-to-head record: Nuggets 3-0
Denver swept the season series against LA and did so handily with each game being decided by at least eight points. The Nuggets held two critical advantages in these matchups as they were +25 in rebounding and +9 in three point shots made. It can be argued that the Nuggets have somewhat of a psychological edge considering that they swept this same Lakers team in the Western Conference finals last year. There was even speculation that LA would tank its first play-in game specifically to avoid Denver in the first round.
Denver will get to benefit from homecourt advantage in this series as it was an excellent 33-8 at Ball Arena during the regular season. That doesn’t bode well for a Los Angeles team that basically split its road matchups with a 20-21 record. However, something to keep in mind is that the Lakers were a superb 11-4 in games decided by three points or less, so they’ll be comfortable in close matchups.
Pick: Nuggets in 5 games (+265)
Denver has Los Angeles’ number and barring a sudden injury, 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. I do think the Lakers can steal a game when the series shifts to Crypto.com Arena, but I think the Nuggets will handle them quickly and send them home in a gentleman’s sweep.