Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 1/9/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Monday, January 9, 2023

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Odds/Point Spread: Los Angeles (+9)

The Los Angeles Lakers are traveling to Ball Arena on Monday where they will take on the Denver Nuggets. Denver opens as 9-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total has been set at 230.

The Lakers took the court against the Kings and notched a win by a score of 136-134 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Lakers ended up with 25 and the Kings totaled 26 personal fouls. They converted 14 of their 32 shots from 3-point land. Sacramento finished the game at 81.1% at the free throw line by knocking down 30 of their 37 attempts. On top of that, Sacramento grabbed 34 rebounds (13 offensive, 21 defensive) and got 3 blocked shots. Sacramento totaled 25 assists and had 5 steals for the matchup. With respect to defending, Los Angeles allowed the other team to go 52.3% from the field on 45 out of 86 shooting. They also distributed 26 assists for the matchup while creating 14 turnovers and having 4 steals. In regard to getting rebounds, they earned 38 with 10 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Lakers knocked down 27 of 33 tries for a percentage of 81.8%. Los Angeles wrapped up the contest having earned a 61.0% FG percentage (50 out of 82) and buried 9 of their 21 shots from beyond the arc.

LeBron James is one player who was a major factor for this game. James finished the game at 50.0% from the field and dished out 7 assists. He played for 38 minutes and also totaled 8 rebounds. He scored 37 points on 14 out of 28 shooting.

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Los Angeles heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 19-21 so far this season. They lose possession via turnover 15.0 times per game and as a squad are committing 18.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Los Angeles is snagging 45.0 boards per game and is sitting with 1,004 assists so far this season, which is 13th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Lakers are hitting 34.2% on 3-pointers (418 of 1,223) and 79.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 116.9 points per outing (5th in the league) while hitting 48.7% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Lakers are forcing 12.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.1 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 26th in the league in giving up assists with 1,033 conceded for the campaign. The Lakers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.2% (1,774 of 3,755) and they concede 45.0 boards per contest as a group. They relinquish 34.7% on shots from distance and they are 27th in the league in points per game from their opponents (117.7).

For their last game, the Nuggets got the victory with a final of 121-108 against the Cavaliers. Regarding how they rebounded, Denver permitted Cleveland to get 40 in all (18 on the offensive side). They finished 38.5% from beyond the perimeter by going 10 out of 26 and finished the game at 18 out of 32 from the free throw line (56.3%). The Nuggets permitted the Cavaliers to make 40 of 88 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.5% in this matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Nuggets shot 43 out of 81 from the floor which had them at 53.1%. In terms of shots from beyond the perimeter, Denver buried 17 out of 35 tries (48.6%). They were able to knock down 18 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 78.3%. The Cavaliers committed 18 fouls in this matchup which took the Nuggets to the charity stripe for 23 shots. They also gave up possession 12 times, while getting 5 steals for the contest. The Nuggets were able to pull down 36 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards totaling 49 in this game.

Nikola Jokic was important for the Nuggets for the matchup. He converted 10 out of 17 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 58.8%, and accumulated 15 rebounds. Jokic recorded 28 points in his 35 minutes on the court and accumulated 10 dimes in the matchup.

Denver has a win-loss record of 26-13 for the year. The Nuggets are committing 19.4 fouls per game and they go 75.1% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 28.7 times per game (2nd in the NBA) and they lose possession via turnover 15.2 times per contest. Denver has accumulated 4,551 points so far this year (116.7 per game) and they snag 43.2 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Nuggets are connecting on 50.9% from the field, which has them ranked 2nd in the league.

The Denver defense gives up 35.7% on 3-point shots (478 of 1,340) and opponents are making 75.5% of their foul shots. They have conceded 26.5 dimes and 40.0 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 29th and 1st in the league. The Nuggets on the defensive side of the court are 16th in the league in points per game surrendered with 113.8. They are able to force 13.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 48.2% from the floor (25th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Denver (-9)

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