Denver Nuggets at LA Lakers Game 5

NBA Playoffs Betting Preview
Denver Nuggets at LA Lakers
Staples Center, Wednesday 9:00PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – Lakers -6.5, 209.5 O/U

Series tied 2-2

The Denver Nuggets put together an impressive performance Monday night in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith fueled a dominating effort by the Nuggets as both stars tallied 24 points each to get the series all square. However, the Nuggets now will take the road and travel to the Staples Center where the Lakers always play their best. Denver would like nothing more than their effort in Game 4 to carry over and give them a chance to steal a game on the road. Los Angeles suffered from poor bench effort in their most recent loss to the Nuggets. Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom who are usually impact players only combined to score 10 points. Outside of Pau Gasol who added some help, it was mostly all Kobe Bryant offensively for the Lakers. Los Angeles just could not get any momentum going as they were held to a low 41% shooting from the floor. The Lakers will look for that to change as they will likely come out with a lot of confidence as normal when they are at home. However, Denver will be attempting to take control of the series by pulling off what would be a mild upset.

The Lakers will have to come out with their back against the wall in Game 5. Los Angeles can not afford to let Denver steal a win and head back to Denver for Game 6 with a chance to lose the series. The Lakers will likely be a tough challenge as usual Wednesday night inside the Staples Center. However, if they are to get back control of the series they will have to overcome some poor efforts from Monday night. The Lakers bench which is has always been solid throughout the season had one of their worse nights of the postseason. The Denver Nuggets bench outscored the Lakers bench 42-24 in the double digit victory. Los Angeles may have been completely blown out the building if not for Bryant still managing to put together a 34 point performance despite not quite being 100%. The Lakers big men will also need to have bigger impact down low. Lamar Odom had an off night while Pau Gasol had a solid 21 point performance. However, the two combined to pull down only 5 offensive rebounds the entire night and it is more than safe to say that Denver dominated the glass on both ends of the floor. The Lakers can not afford to let the Nuggets dominate the boards again Wednesday night if they hope to pull out the victory.

Denver had a very strong performance Monday night despite their biggest superstar Carmelo Anthony having an off night. In defense for Anthony, he was not only battling a battered ankle but also had a stomach virus that had him really sick before the game even began. However, some familiar faces picked up the slack to hand the Lakers a rather embarrassing loss. J.R Smith knocked down four 3 pointers that helped lead to his 24 point night. Chauncey Billups also had a 24 point performance to lead the Nuggets. Billups was able to get to the charity stripe on multiple occasions which led to a perfect 9 for 9 effort from the line. The Nuggets only shot 44% as a team from the floor which may be surprising considering they posted 120 points on the evening. However, the true battle was won down in the paint where the Nuggets out-rebounded the Lakers a whopping 58-40. The 58 rebounds was a playoff high by the Nuggets and if they can dominate the glass again Wednesday night it will go along way in effort to bringing the series back to Denver with the chance to win the Western Conference in Game 6.

Pick – Denver +6.5