Lakers vs. Nuggets West Finals Game 2 Preview, Odds, Lines, Prediction, Picks (May 18)

Denver Nuggets were better than the LA Lakers in the Western Conference Finals opening game. Nikola Jokic had a monstrous game, reminding everyone that he is the best player in the league, not Joel Embiid, who completely undeservingly won this year’s NBA MVP award. On the other side, Anthony Davis continued his streak of fantastic performances in the playoffs, showing that he can compete with the Joker.

• Lakers Odds +185
• Nuggets Odds -225
• Spread Nuggets -5.5
• Over/Under 226.5

Preview

LA Lakers (+185) allowed 132 points, which is something unacceptable at this stage of the playoffs. Once they woke up near the end of the game, it was already too late for them to come back, but LeBron and the company indicated they have the strength to push the Nuggets up against the wall when needed. 

The purple and gold came down to only three points with slightly less than three and a half minutes left. Still, they couldn’t keep the same pace on the offensive end, scoring only five points until the end of the event. 

Davis had 40 buckets with 10 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks, 14-for-23. James ended the night with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and one assist shy of a triple-double, while Austin Rivers packed five threes for 23 buckets and eight assists. Rui Hachimura was very good off the bench, with 17 points.

Denver Nuggets (-225) saw another of those Jokic performances, with the Serbian recording his sixth triple-double in the playoffs with 34 points, 21 boards, and 14 assists, plus two blocks. He was dunking over AD, shooting threes, playing pick-and-roll, controlling the glass, everything. 

The Nuggets completely controlled the glass, having 47 rebounds to the Lakers 30. Michael Porter Jr. added his 10 boards to 15 points and was of great use on the defensive side. Jamal Murray scored 31 points, while Aaron Gordon had 12.

The x-factors in this contest were Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. KCP was a part of the Lakers’ bubble roster, that won the title, and he knows a lot about this team. In the end, he had 21 points, while Brown entered off the bench to have 16 buckets. 

Head to Head Games

Game 1 finished 132-126 for the Nuggets, while the regular season series saw both teams winning two games each, both at their home courts. The Nuggets in Late October 110-99, then the Lakers twice in LA, also in late October, 121-110, in mid-December 126-108, before the Nuggets’ victory in Colorado, early in January, 122-109.

Prediction

The fact that the Lakers were inferior on the glass tells us they don’t have size under the rim to compete with the Nuggets. AD is there, and LeBron occasionally once he moves away from the three-point line, which is rare because all of the Nuggets’ forwards shoot from downtown really well. There is a reason to believe that the purple and gold won’t find a solution for this matter and that the Nuggets are going to win again. The spread Denver needs to cover is 5.5 points and since they already did that in Game 1, why not repeat it in Game 2?

Pick: Denver Nuggets -5.5 -110

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