Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 5/16/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Los Angeles (+5)

The Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Denver opens as 5-point favorites from oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 222.5.

The Lakers took the court against the Warriors and walked away with a win by a score of 122-101 in their last contest. When discussing fouls, the Lakers finished with 17 while the Warriors recorded 30 fouls. They also converted 13 out of their 48 tries from three-point range. Golden State ended up shooting 71.4% when shooting free throws by knocking down 10 of their 14 attempts. Additionally, Golden State collected 53 rebounds (20 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 6 blocked shots. Golden State earned 25 assists and had 3 steals for the contest. With respect to the defense, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 37.9% from the floor on 39 of 103 shooting. They also dished out 25 assists for this contest as well as creating 10 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Regarding rebounding, they earned 46 with 6 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Lakers buried 31 of 42 attempts for a percentage of 73.8%. Los Angeles ended with a 52.0% field goal percentage (39 out of 75) and made 13 of their 26 3-point attempts.

LeBron James is someone who was important for the game. James ended up shooting 52.9% from the floor and distributed 3 assists. He saw the court for 39 mins played and also collected 9 boards. He accumulated 25 points on 9 out of 17 shooting.

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Los Angeles heads into this contest with a mark of 43-39 for the campaign. They have an average of 117.2 points per outing (6th in basketball) while shooting 48.2% from the field. The Lakers are hitting 34.6% on 3-point shots (885 of 2,558) and 77.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Los Angeles is collecting 45.7 rebounds per contest and has 2,072 dimes so far this year, which is 15th in the league in terms of passing. They turn it over 14.1 times per contest and as a team they are committing 17.9 personal fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Lakers have forced 12.6 turnovers per game while drawing 21.5 personal fouls. They surrender 34.4% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 20th in the NBA in PPG from their opponents (116.6). The Lakers defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.9% (3,607 of 7,698) and they concede 44.9 boards per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 15th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,104 relinquished for the campaign.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Nuggets walked away with a victory by a final of 125-100 when they faced the Suns. The Nuggets collected 34 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 41 in this game. They also turned it over 10 times, while getting 10 steals for this contest. The Suns were called for 22 fouls in the matchup which took the Nuggets to the charity stripe for 31 shots. They were able to knock down 29 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 93.5%. In regard to three-point attempts, Denver converted 8 out of their 22 tries (36.4%). When the game finished, the Nuggets shot 44 for 82 from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.7%. The Nuggets allowed the Suns to bury 38 out of 79 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 48.1% in this game. They finished shooting 39.3% from three-point range by connecting on 11 out of 28 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 20 at the free throw line (65.0%). When it comes to how they attacked the glass, Denver permitted Phoenix to snag 29 overall (2 offensive).

Nikola Jokic was important for the Nuggets for the matchup. Jokic recorded 32 points in his 38 mins on the hardwood and had 12 dimes for this game. He buried 13 out of 18 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 72.2%, and accumulated 10 rebounds.

Denver has a win-loss record of 53-29 on the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Nuggets are connecting on 50.4% from the field, which ranks them 1st in basketball. Denver has totaled 9,495 points for the campaign (115.8 per contest) and they collect 43.0 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 28.9 times per game (2nd in the league) and they turn it over 14.5 times per game. The Nuggets are committing 18.6 fouls every game and they connect on 75.1% from the free throw line.

The Denver defense gives up 34.4% on shots from distance (933 of 2,711) and opponents are knocking down 77.5% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 25.7 dimes and 40.8 boards per game, which ranks them 16th and 1st in basketball. The Nuggets on the defensive side of the court are 8th in basketball in points allowed per game with 112.5. They are able to force 13.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.8% from the floor (20th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles (+5)

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