NBA 2022/23, Monday, 31/10/2022
On Monday morning, NBA fans preparing for their early shift can shake themselves awake with the Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets game and a good coffee! Because this rematch promises to be highly entertaining.
In my Lakers Nuggets tip, however, I don’t expect the Californians to win. Denver already showed the purple and gold what they are made of a few days ago and will most likely do it again this time!
Amazing! The Lakers have lost all of their first five games of the season for the first time since the 2014/15 season! Warriors, Clippers, Blazers, Timberwolves and especially the upcoming opponent proved to be too strong so far.
The Nuggets have already beaten the Californians a few days ago with 110:99, with superstar Nikola Jokic playing an outstanding game with 35 points and 13 rebounds.
What can NBA fans, who may already be looking forward to the 2022 World Cup, expect from this rematch? In fact, there is little to suggest at the moment that Los Angeles will have solved all their problems within a few days.
On the Lakers, only LeBron James and Anthony Davis are actually reaching normal form – at least in the half court! As a collective, however, the purple and gold don’t harmonise well enough to embarrass a compact team like the Nuggets.
For every 100 times Los Angeles has had possession of the ball so far, they are the only NBA team in the country that has been able to turn it into an average of less than 100 points – actually, it was only 96.9 points.
From distance, the Californians are also the second worst franchise in converting valuable three-pointers with a success rate of only 22.7 %. So offensively, not much can be expected from LeBron and his boys tonight either.
While anything can happen in an NBA game, I personally wouldn’t place a home win bet on the Lakers right before tip-off because their current team performance doesn’t convince me enough.
Take Patrick Beverly, for example! The veteran point guard has averaged 37.6% of his three-point attempts in his career, which is exactly why the Lakers acquired him from the Timberwolves in July.
But after the first five NBA games of the new season, the veteran, just like Anthony Davis, is converting less than one in five attempts from beyond the line (19%) – but “The King” also leaves something to be desired in this regard.
LeBron James has converted 25.7% of all three-point attempts compared to his two teammates, but if it were to stay that way, it would be his worst success rate in a single season since he made his debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
In short: LA works along quite well defensively, but loses ground at the crucial moments because of a lack of accuracy! Especially in the face of such a low 3s success rate, opponents are currently quite happy to just let the purple and golds throw it.
A few days ago, the Californians also had their downfall against the Nuggets when it came to winning the ball. Serbian big man Nikola Jokic played a major role in Denver’s 54:47 lead in terms of rebounds.
Player bets, such as those that can be placed at any time with providers like Bet365, are something I would recommend few tonight.
Nikola Jokic did manage to break the 30-point mark in the last clash against the Californians, but did so for the first time this season.
I’d be more confident betting on the Serb to rebound, as he’s been catching a lot of them since the start of the season – and consistently!
In terms of the outcome of the game itself, it should come as no surprise that the markets seem to be in agreement with my Lakers Nuggets tip. After all, it’s the visitors who are favoured across all providers at betting odds of around 1.60.
Free throws, as we all know, are on the floor, but the bookmakers also have their own version of them on offer!
Summary: The Lakers did a lot right in their first meeting against the Nuggets this season and even managed to take an interim lead.
Defensively, LA has started the season much better than in the game with the ball. Since the start of the regular season, the Californians have been among the league’s worst NBA teams in all important offensive statistics.
Denver will be robust in the rematch, diligently collecting rebounds – and will pull away in the end as soon as the purple and gold miss one ball after the other.
My Lakers Nuggets tip is therefore: Anew win for the guests
