NBA Picks 2/22 – LA Lakers @ Denver Nuggets

NBA Picks 2/22 – LA Lakers @ Denver Nuggets

Western Conference rivals face off tonight as the Los Angeles Lakers (33-21) visit the red-hot Denver Nuggets (37-19) at Ball Arena on ABC. This is the second of four matchups between the teams. Denver routed the Lakers 127-102 in Los Angeles on Nov. 23. Denver trailed by six points at halftime of that game and then outscored Los Angeles 70-39 in the second half. 

Denver has eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs for the last two seasons in dominant fashion. The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference finals en route to winning the franchise’s first NBA title. Last season, the Nuggets  eliminated the Lakers 4-1 in the first round last season. Denver is a 6.5-point favorite and the total is 241.

Los Angeles is coming off a 110-102 victory at Portland on Thursday night. LeBron James amassed 40 points (14-24 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 8-8 FT), eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block over 35 minutes in the win. With about ten minutes left in the contest and the Lakers clinging to an 83-81 lead, LeBron scored eight straight points to push the lead to ten and put the game away. Austin Reaves added 32 points (9-21 FG, 2-8 3Pt, 12-13 FT), seven assists, two steals and two blocks over 40 minutes. 

NBA Picks 2/22 – LA Lakers @ Denver Nuggets

Denver is coming off a 129-115 win over the short-handed Charlotte Hornets at home on Thursday night. Jamal Murray scored a team-high 34 points (12-18 FG, 7-10 3Pt, 3-4 FT) along with four assists and two blocks across 35 minutes. Nikola Jokic registered 29 points (11-17 FG, 6-14 3Pt, 1-2 FT), 17 rebounds, nine assists, one steal and a block in 37 minutes. He was one assist shy of his 26th triple-double of the season. Denver is on a season-high nine game winning streak and has won a franchise-record seven straight games by double digits.

GAME STORYLINES: LOS ANGELES LAKERS

In the summer of 2018, superstar LeBron James made the somewhat surprising decision to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. A groin injury in his first season with the Lakers caused LeBron to miss 17 games and he was unable to lead a young Lakers squad to the playoffs. In June 2019, the Lakers added fellow superstar Anthony Davis via trade. That move led to an NBA title for the Lakers in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season. 

Since winning the 2020 NBA championship, the Los Angeles Lakers have not come close to obtaining another title due to constant roster upheaval and injuries to Anthony Davis. The Lakers inability to build a championship roster over the past four seasons led management to make one of the most shocking trades in sports history three weeks ago. 

In the late-night or early morning hours of February 1-2, 2025, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in a trade package that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas. The deal sent shockwaves through the sports and non-sports world because nobody expected the 25-year-old Doncic to ever be traded. I mean, Doncic had just led Dallas to the NBA Finals last season and was already a five-time All-Star and named to the All-NBA 1st Team four times in his six NBA seasons.

NBA Picks 2/22 – LA Lakers @ Denver Nuggets

The arrival of Luka Doncic to Los Angeles had a number of Laker fans thinking NBA titles would be coming soon. Especially when you consider the Lakers were in the midst of playing their best basketball of the season and had just come off an impressive 128-112 win at New York a few hours before the trade was announced. Doncic hadn’t played since suffering a left calf injury on Christmas (Dec. 25) so his Lakers debut would be delayed for a few games. 

Luka Doncic made his highly anticipated debut on Feb. 10 against Utah. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes as the Lakers routed Utah 132-113. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the good feelings about the trade were somewhat dashed quickly when they were hammered by that same hapless Utah Jazz team — who improved to 13-40 — two nights later in Utah. The Lakers then lost 100-97 at home to the lowly Charlotte Hornets (13-39) in their first game after the All-Star break on Feb. 19. 

Luka Doncic is off to a slow start statistically with the Lakers as he’s averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.7 threes per game while shooting just 35.6 percent from the floor and 20.8 percent from long distance in his three games with the Lakers. The Lakers are 1-2 with Luka in the lineup and he’s already missed one game due to load management. Despite the early struggles, Luka is likely break out of his slump and display the All-World form he’s shown in his six NBA seasons. He is questionable for tonight’s game at Denver.

GAME STORYLINES: DENVER

Behind the herculean efforts of center Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets finally broke through and won the franchise’s first NBA title in 2023. Jokic went from being a second round pick (No. 41 overall) in the 2014 NBA draft to arguably the best player in the NBA over the last five seasons. Through his first nine full seasons in the NBA (2016-2024), Jokic has won the NBA’s MVP award three times, was named the 2023 NBA Finals MVP and has made the All-Star team seven times. 

The three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has continued his stellar level of play in year ten as he’s averaging a triple-double of 29.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10 assists per game through 52 contests. His scoring and assist averages are career highs. If Jokic can maintain these averages, he’d be the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double. He’d join Oscar Robertson and current teammate Russell Westbrook as the only ones to accomplish that feat. Jokic has 25 triple-doubles on the season.

Denver’s bid to repeat as NBA champions last season was vanquished by the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves in a contentious seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals. The inexperienced Timberwolves were able to win the final two games of the series and end Denver’s season. The lack of playmaking and scoring outside of Jokic during that series may have prompted Denver to sign nine-time All-Star and 2016-17 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook as a free agent. Westbrook signed a two-year, veteran minimum deal with Denver. He’s done a terrific job as a part-time starter this year averaging 12.9 ppg on 47.3% from the floor along with 6.4 asts, 5.1 rebs and 1.2 stls through 49 games. 

NBA Picks 2/22 – LA Lakers @ Denver Nuggets

The trio of star guard Jamal Murray (21.3 ppg, 6.1 asts, 3.9 rebs, 1.4 stls, 2.2 threes, 47.5% from 2 in 49 gms), versatile forward Michael Porter Jr. (18.7 ppg, 6.6 rebs, 2.6 threes, 51.8% from 2, 41.4 from 3) and emerging swingman Christian Braun (14.9 ppg, 5.1 rebs, 1.1 stls, 57.6% from 2) are the top complimentary pieces alongside Nikola Jokic. Murray was magnificent during Denver’s run to the 2023 title but he’s been injured in three of the last four postseason’s for Denver. The 23-year-old Braun is having a breakout season in year three as he’s more than doubled his scoring average from 7.3 ppg last year to 14.9 ppg this year. 

Denver’s recent hot streak has allowed them to leapfrog the Memphis Grizzlies for second place in the stacked Western Conference. If Jamal Murray can remain healthy through the playoffs, Denver has a good chance of getting back to the NBA Finals in June due to the vast playoff experience which they possess and the top teams in the West — Oklahoma City, Memphis and Houston — lack.   

THE PICK: NUGGETS (-6.5)

Denver looks to be in championship mode at the moment as they’ve won nine in a row and seven straight by double digits. They’ve owned the Lakers for the past two seasons in the regular season and postseason, I don’t see why anything would change tonight against a Lakers team that is still figuring out how to use Luka Doncic effectively. Lay the Points and take the Nuggets!