Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets have found ways to win games without their full rotations, and for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning didn’t really matter this year!
The Nuggets and the Lakers will face off in Los Angeles on Friday night, a game very important to both sides given the tightness of the Western Conference standings at the moment.
Once again, Jokic has dominated the ground offensively for the Nuggets, and he’s entering this game having recorded 43 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Jamal Murray is beginning to look like the Jamal Murray of old as he continues to work his way back from an ACL injury that sidelined him for all of last year, and the depth of the nuggets has been difficult for his opponents to conquer.
For the Lakers, their depth was the complete opposite. They know what to expect from LeBron James and Anthony Davis every night, but everyone else on that roster is a wild card, which hasn’t worked well for Los Angeles so far.
The good news for the Lakers, however, is that they’ve seen the Nuggets twice this season and in the most recent clash between those teams, the Lakers won at home.
Could Los Angeles win the Nuggets back-to-back or will Denver win their fourth straight game?
Here’s how to watch Friday night’s game with game time and TV, lineups, bios and other important details.
How to watch Nuggets vs 76ers
- WHO: Denver Nuggets (17-10) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (11-16)
- IF: 10:00 p.m. ET, Friday, December 16, 2022
- WHERE: crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
Key stats and facts for Nuggets vs. Lakers
- The Denver Nuggets won a 141-128 home win over the Washington Wizards.
- The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 122-118 OT loss at home to the Boston Celtics.
- The Nuggets are 9-7 on the road this season and the Lakers are 6-7 at home.
- The Lakers are one of the best free throw teams in the league, ranking first in free throws per game (20.9) and second in free throws attempted per game (26.1).
- Denver and Los Angeles split their first two meetings this season as both teams won on their home soil.
Last encounter:
October 30, 2022 – Lakers 121, Nuggets 110
With LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, who scored 67 points together, the Lakers were able to defeat the Nuggets in Los Angeles. Davis finished the game with a game-high 15 rebounds and the Lakers overtook Denver 51-48 in the game. Nikola Jokic finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists for Denver while Jamal Murray had 21 points.
Current injury reports:
nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. (heel) – OUT
Lakers: Wenyen Gabriel (shoulder) – AUS, Juan Toscano-Anderson (ankle) – AUS, LeBron James (ankle) – LIKELY, Anthony Davis (back) – LIKELY
Expected starters:
PROJECTED NUGGETS STARTER:
- G Jamal Murray6-3 guard: 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists
- G Kentavious Caldwell Pope6-5 guard: 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds
- G/F Bruce Brown6-4 guard/forward: 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists
- F Aaron Gordon6-8 forward: 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds
- C Nikola Jokic6-11 centers: 24.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 9.0 assists
PROJECTS LAKERS STARTER:
- G.Patrick Beverly6-1 guard: 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds
- G Dennis Schroeder6-3 guard: 8.3 points, 3.5 assists
- G Lonnie Walker IV6-4 guard: 15.7 points, 2.3 rebounds
- F LeBron James6-9 forward: 26.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists
- C Anthony Davis6-10 middle: 28.4 points, 12.1 rebounds
Betting Odds:
- The Nuggets are currently 1-point favorites over the Lakers as of Friday morning, according to SI Sportsbook.
- The over/under for this matchup is currently set at 236.5 total points.
What to look out for:
- The Nuggets are currently 2nd in the league in offensive standings and 28th in the league in defensive standings.
- The Lakers currently rank 23rd in the league on offense and 14th in the league on defense.
- Los Angeles is 112-75 all-time against Denver.
- The Nuggets are currently averaging 116.0 points per game this season, ranked 6th in the NBA, and the Lakers are averaging 116.6 points per game, ranked 25th in the NBA.
Don’t miss the latest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak’s own board seal!
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