Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 23/10/2023, 19:06  by Joseph King | Modified on 23/10/2023 at 19:09 in NBA Predictions

The 2023/24 NBA season officially tips off on Tuesday night with the reigning champion Denver Nuggets hosting the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams begin the new campaign with a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals, in which Denver swept Los Angeles 4-0. It will be a special night for the Nuggets faithful at Ball Arena. They will get to witness their team lift its first championship banner in franchise history. The Nuggets players will also be awarded their championship rings in the opening ceremony. Following the festivities, however, there is still a game which needs to be won. Denver enter the curtain-raising event as expected favorites given their triumph last season. The team returns largely the same roster, albeit without key bench and hustle player Bruce Brown. The core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. is still present as Denver looks to run it back this time around. They finished with a home record of 44 wins and only eight defeats last season (regular season + playoffs).

The Lakers had a relatively successful 2022/23 considering the turmoil the team was in for the majority of the season. After looking like they would miss out on the playoffs, LA ran off nine wins from their last 11 regular season games. This earned them the seventh-seed and a spot in the play-in, where they dispatched of the Timberwolves. Los Angeles really struggled to get going out of the gates last year, managing only two wins from the first 12 games. A win to open the season here would do them a world of good as they try to avoid another slow start. They made a number of depth additions in the offseason as they look to strengthen around their core of 38-year-old LeBron James and 30-year-old Anthony Davis. Despite father time working his way to the King, LeBron is still playing at a remarkably high level given his age.