NBA 2021/22 on Monday, 11.04.2022
Just as the visitors’ playoff hopes have already been laid to rest, so too do we pay our last respects to the Los Angeles Lakers in their game against the Denver Nuggets. Because after this game, the season is finally over for them!
Basketball fans are also offered a great betting opportunity, which I would like to share in my Nuggets Lakers tip. In my opinion, the Californians will be handed their 50th defeat of the season without any ifs and buts.
It’s been a few days since the Suns put the final nail in the purple coffin of their Los Angeles rivals. Since then, the already downwardly inclined motivational course of the former NBA supremacy has arguably plummeted completely.
The only thing the Lakers are even trying to do now is to avoid the ignominy of their 50th defeat. Yesterday against the Thunder, after an incredible eight defeats in a row, they at least managed to fend off the first match point.
But the Thunder are not in second-last place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 24-57 for nothing and even had their difficulties against the slimmed-down starting five of the Californians (101-120).
However, the Lakers are due tonight! Because for the season finale – as already against the Thunder – almost all regular players have signed off. The franchise officially announced the absence of Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
Consequently, it is very likely that we will again see the quintet consisting of Johnson, Reaves, Howard, Horton-Tucker and Monk. A starting five with which – with all due respect – you wouldn’t win a pot in the playoffs.
The upcoming opponent is even a candidate for the NBA Finals – even if only in the role of the underdog. Moreover, the Nuggets will not only arrive in full gear, but with the will to win!
Denver has won 20 of its last 29 NBA games alone and could claim 5th place in the Western Conference once and for all with another win – if the Jazz lose at the same time.
The Jazz’s defeat is important because, if they were tied on points, it would be the Salt Lake City franchise, which, with a 4-0 record in head-to-head season duels, would get the nod according to the rulebook.
The Lakers also won’t be able to avoid a loss because they’ve already lost two games to the Nuggets this season, and in both cases they couldn’t find a remedy against a rambunctious Nikola Jokic.
The Serbian has averaged 27.5 points, 15 rebounds and 9.5 assists on the scoreboard in his two games against the Lakers this season. In their last visit to Los Angeles, the Nuggets gave the Californians no chance in a 133-96 win.
Denver, on the other hand, played their second trick on the Purple Yellows last Sunday, when the play-off contenders won again in a commanding – albeit not quite as humiliating – 129-118 victory.
Anthony Davis (28 points) and Russell Westbrook (27 points) were able to at least improve the final result by cosmetic measures. But as we’ve already noted, neither player is in the ballpark.
On the other hand, as far as the outcome of the game is concerned, the Nuggets Lakers odds that appeared on the betting markets in the morning hours are unequivocal: the home side are the heavy favourites at 1.30!
Conclusion: We can’t get past a Lakers defeat, no matter how we want to spin it. The only question I seriously have is whether there will be another debacle for the Californians.
After all, the visitors are missing all the big names, including Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, who made it look like a basketball game in the loss to the Nuggets a week ago.
With the home side dominating of late and needing a win at all costs, I can well see Los Angeles being handed a 30-point deficit today with a bit of bad luck.
My Nuggets Lakers tip: Season loss number “50” for LA!
