Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 2/8/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Thursday, February 8, 2024

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Denver Nuggets (35-16) are en route to Crypto.com Arena on Thursday where they will compete against the Los Angeles Lakers (27-25).

The Nuggets faced off with the Trail Blazers and notched a win by a score of 112-103 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Nuggets ended up finishing with 11 and the Trail Blazers finished the game with 16 fouls. They made 11 of 31 attempts from distance. Portland finished 93.3% from the charity stripe by making 14 of 15 shots. Additionally, Portland grabbed 42 boards (15 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 6 blocked shots. Portland doled out 29 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. When discussing defense, Denver let their opponent shoot 45.9% from the field on 39 of 85 shooting. They also doled out 26 dimes for the matchup while forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and having 8 steals. When discussing grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 42 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Nuggets converted 16 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 84.2%. Denver ended the game having earned a 48.8% FG percentage (42 out of 86) and knocked down 12 of their 28 three-point attempts.

Nikola Jokic is one guy who had an impact in the matchup. He ended up walking away with 29 points on 12 out of 20 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins played and pulled down 8 boards. Jokic ended up shooting 60.0% from the field and also distributed 7 dimes.

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Denver will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 35-16 so far this season. They are turning it over 12.4 times per game and as a team they are committing 18.7 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Denver is grabbing 44.1 boards per game and has tallied 1,465 dimes on the season, which is 6th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Nuggets are hitting 37.0% on three-point shots (587 of 1,586) and 75.5% from the charity stripe. They average 114.8 pts per game (16th in the NBA) on 49.4% from the field.

Defensively, the Nuggets are forcing their opponents into 12.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.8 fouls. They rank 11th in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,295 conceded on the year. The Nuggets defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 46.7% (2,073 of 4,440) and they concede 41.8 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are giving up 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 4th in the NBA in points per game allowed (110.6).

The last time they took the court, the Lakers went home victorious with a score of 124-118 when they faced the Hornets. When it comes to how they rebounded, Los Angeles permitted Charlotte to get 34 overall (5 on the offensive glass). They went 40.6% from distance by shooting 13 out of 32 and finished the game at 11 of 14 from the free throw line (78.6%). The Lakers permitted the Hornets to bury 47 of 96 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 49.0% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Lakers went 50 out of 89 from the field which had them shooting 56.2%. Concerning 3-point shots, Los Angeles knocked down 8 of 34 tries (23.5%). They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 84.2%. The Hornets committed 16 personal fouls for the game which got the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 19 shots. They turned the ball over 16 times, while recording 5 steals for this game. The Lakers were able to snag 41 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 48 in this game.

D'Angelo Russell pitched in for the Lakers for the matchup. He buried 10 of 21 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 47.6%, and totaled 4 rebounds. Russell accumulated 28 points in his 40 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 6 dimes in this matchup.

Los Angeles has a mark of 27-25 on the season. The Lakers are committing 16.4 fouls per game and they shoot 77.2% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 28.3 times per contest (8th in basketball) and they turn the ball over 14.1 times per game. Los Angeles has scored 6,044 points on the season (116.2 per contest) and they collect 43.0 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are hitting on 49.2% from the field, which is ranked 7th in basketball.

The Los Angeles defense allows 37.6% on three-point shots (744 of 1,980) and their opponents are knocking down 79.6% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 27.6 assists and 44.3 boards every game, which has them ranked 21st and 20th in basketball. The Lakers on the defensive end are ranked 18th in the league in points per game surrendered with 117.1. They are able to force 13.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 47.2% from the floor (14th in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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