The Denver Nuggets pulled the unthinkable and beat the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series to advance. The Nuggets had been down 3-1 in the series with the Clippers and somehow managed to win three straight to take the series.
Remarkably, the Nuggets did the same thing in their opening round playoff series against Utah. Trailing 3-1, Denver fought back to win three straight and move on.
Is there any magic left now that the Denver Nuggets will face the Western Conference’s top seed, the Los Angeles Lakers?
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Scouting the Nuggets
For all those looking forward to the all-L.A. conference final, better luck next year. The Nuggets surprised everyone by holding Kawhi Leonard to just 14 points on 6-of-22 shooting and eliminating the Clippers in a 104-89 win.
The other surprise is the rise of Denver guard Jamal Murray. The Nuggets star shot 15-of-26, including 6- of-13 from three-point range, for 40 points in the deciding Game 7.
Teaming with C Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets have a formidable dynamic duo. Jokic scored 16 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and dished out 13 assists in his Game 7 triple-double.
Murray and Jokic are certainly the keys for Denver, but are they enough to beat the Lakers?
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Scouting the Lakers
After losing Game 1 in each of their first two playoff series, the Lakers went on to win four straight and eliminate Portland and Houston, respectively.
The Lakers were likely looking ahead to facing off with the Clippers and even Milwaukee in the NBA Finals. Both teams have been eliminated from the postseason.
The big reason the Lakers are so dominant this postseason starts with LeBron James. The King is averaging nearly a triple-double a game: 26.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists.
The Lakers own dynamic duo consists of James and leading scorer Anthony Davis. The 6-10 Davis averages 27.6 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
With Davis and Jokic, it could mean the series comes down to frontcourt battle.
DEN-LAL Regular Season Series
The Lakers and Nuggets played four times this season. L.A. won three of the four. The Lakers have done very well at defending Jokic using both JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard. Against L.A., Jokic averaged just 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in the four games against the Lakers.
Remember, L.A. also held Portland center Jusuf Nurkic to just 14.2 points a game on 43.9 percent shooting.
Murray did score right around his average against the Lakers this season. He averaged 18.5 points on 47.6 percent shooting though he did struggle from behind the three-point arc (15.8 percent). It should be noted that the Lakers held Damian Lillard (5.7 ppg below season average), James Harden (4.9 ppg), and Russell Westbrook (7.4 ppg) to well under their season averages this postseason.
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Nuggets vs. Lakers Series Prediction
The Lakers are a -750 favorite to capture the series and there’s no reason to think otherwise after leading the NBA Western standings. Well, except for the fact that Denver has defied odds and won not one but two series after being down 3-1.
Bettors should keep in mind that the two teams split their four games this season against the spread. Denver is 5-1 ATS in its last six games with the UNDER hitting in seven of their last eight.
The Lakers are also 4-1 ATS in their last five games with the UNDER trending. The Total went UNDER in four of the Lakers last five games.
Both teams rank high in offensive rating in the postseason with the Lakers third (114.4) and the Nuggets fifth (112.5). It’s also interesting that in the last 19 games played between these two teams the OVER has hit 13 times, including each of the last three.
Denver may win a game or two, but the Lakers are destined for the NBA Finals. James will make sure of it.
SERIES PREDICTION: Lakers in 6
