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The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals Tuesday night with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver. The game will air on ESPN. This is a rematch of the Western Conference Finals from the 2020 Orlando bubble.
The Nuggets don't have many notable injuries. Collin Gillespie suffered a lower leg injury towards the end of the regular season and is out for the season. It’s similar for the Lakers as the only notable injury they have is Mo Bamba, who's been a role player since being traded to the Lakers. He is questionable with an ankle injury.
The Nuggets are 6-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook and the point total sits at 222.5. On the moneyline, the Nuggets are -240 while the Lakers are +200.
Lakers vs. Nuggets, 8:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Nuggets -6
This feels like Denver’s year to win the Western Conference. Criticism calling the Nuggets overrated have been put to sleep this season and they legitimately seem like the best team in the conference. Confidence is high in Los Angeles but at home, I think the Nuggets win Game 1 by double digits.
During the regular season, the series was split 2-2 and the home team won all four games. Every win during the regular season series was by double digits and we should see that play out again in Game 1. I would expect Ball Arena to be electric on Tuesday, and the Nuggets will rally behind that to win and cover.
Over/Under: Over 222.5
Look for both offenses to start off strong in this one. The Nuggets have shot the three well in this postseason while the Lakers have had some struggles defending it. The three most recent regular season games between these two teams went over this total. Nuggets games have went over this total in three of their last four and the Lakers games have gone over in four of their last five. Take the over here, especially on a relatively lower number.