The Denver Nuggets will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Opening Night in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals. The action will get underway in Ball Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can tune in via TNT. So are we siding with LeBron James or trusting Nikola Jokic to get off to a hot start? Well, let’s dig right into Tuesday’s Lakers-Nuggets betting odds as we make our predictions and pick the best bet for Opening Night! If you’re hungry for more action, check out our NBA betting promos!
Lakers-Nuggets Pick & Prediction | Best Bet for NBA Opening Night
Lakers-Nuggets Odds
Odds via bet365
Lakers: +170 | Nuggets: -200
Lakers +4.5: -110 | Nuggets -4.5: -110
Over 227.5: -110 | Under 227.5: -110
Expert: Isaiah Sirois
Time: Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Lakers-Nuggets Pick & Prediction
The Denver Nuggets, reigning champions of the NBA Finals, didn’t have a great offseason. Versatile wing Bruce Brown left for Indiana, and Denver failed to add meaningful depth to build out a second unit. The starting five remains intact, but sketchy reserve pieces like point guard Reggie Jackson, center Zeke Nnaji, and wings Christian Braun, Justin Holiday and Peyton Watson, are now the first men off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers built out their depth this offseason. The team retained D’Angelo Russell and added Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes. Not all of those pieces will play meaningful roles for L.A., especially not on a nightly basis, but they give the Lakers some added flexibility that they lacked, especially early in the 2022-23 season.
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Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets to a 4-0 sweep over the Lakers in the playoffs, but Denver had gone just 2-2 against L.A. in the regular season, winning both home games but dropping both road games. Each of those contests came before the trade deadline that saw the Lakers attempt to reinvent themselves. The new-look Lakers that the Nuggets swept forced Jokic to play 42 minutes per game.
Much has been said about how bad the Nuggets are in Jokic’s off minutes. Last year, their net efficiency rating dipped by 21.9 points per 100 possessions with him off the floor. The year before, it dipped by 16.4. Again, Jokic averaged 42 minutes per game against the Lakers in the playoffs, but he averaged only 33.7 per game in the regular season last year and 35.3 against the Lakers.
The Nuggets might be one of the NBA’s best teams at home, but I’m trusting the Lakers to cover the 4.5-point spread on Opening Night. This year’s Nuggets will rely on Jokic more than they had to last year, and the now-deeper Lakers should capitalize on his off minutes to keep this one close. You can find the Lakers as a 4.5-point underdog via most public books, including bet365 and BetMGM.
Lakers-Nuggets NBA Pick: Los Angeles +4.5 -110 at BetMGM
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