The Lakers look to pull off an upset in Denver where they will take on the streaking Nuggets.
The Lakers continue their short two-game road trip in Denver where they will take on the Nuggets. This is the second matchup between both teams this season as Los Angeles stumbles upon a hot Denver squad that’s currently on a nine-game winning streak.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets
When: 5:30 PST, Feb 22
Where: Ball Arena
Watch: ABC
If you’ve watched Lakers basketball over the past two years, I don’t think I have to tell you why Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets continue to be purple and gold’s most powerful kryptonite. Denver has owned Los Angeles in the past two playoffs and they reminded the Lakers that once again when these two teams first faced this season last November.
Over the last two seasons, the question for the Lakers every time they faced these Nuggets was: “Will this finally be the game they win?” And the answer has always been an embarrassing and painful no. Including the playoffs, Denver has won 13 of the last 14 matchups.
So while I’d like to ask again if Saturday’s match will finally be where L.A. wins, I honestly wouldn’t bet on it. At the risk of sounding like a pessimist, there’s just such a complete difference between the state of these two teams.
The Nuggets, who are currently the second seed in the Western Conference, are looking like the best version of themselves after winning nine of their last ten. Led by the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, they now have the league’s second-best offense and average 121.7 points per game. They also know that they want to extend their winning streak to 10 straight, which is the most in the Jokic era. Surely, they want to do that against the team they know they’ve owned over the last two seasons.
As for the Lakers, well, they’re clearly still adjusting to the arrival of Luka Dončić so they’re not really playing their best basketball at the moment. With the Slovenian native expected to play on Saturday, hopefully, the Lakers will pull off a major upset. However, it’s going to take an outwardly shooting night for that to happen. L.A. needs to buckle up defensively — where they’ve actually led the league in the last 15 games — and stay composed for 48 minutes.
It’s going to be interesting to see how JJ Redick game plans against Jokic defensively, considering that Jaxson Hayes is probably going to start on him. Also, will this finally be the game where Dončić has one of his signature performances?
It would honestly be poetic if it came against this Nuggets team on their home floor. But we can only hope like how we’ve been waiting for the day the Lakers finally overcome their kryptonite that is the Denver Nuggets team.
Let’s see if that moment will finally happen on Saturday.
Notes and Updates
- Aside from having a good shooting night, the Lakers can increase their chances to upset the Nuggets in this one if they actually take care of the ball. Their turnovers, as of late, have been a problem, especially the unforced ones. Hopefully there’s some improvement in that regard on Saturday.
- For the Lakers’ injury report, Luka Dončić (left calf injury management) and LeBron James (left foot injury management) are probable.
- Additionally, Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery recovery) is out while Bronny James Jr. (G-League) is with the South Bay Lakers.
- Jamal Murray (left knee inflammation) and Aaron Gordon (right calf injury management) are probable. Meanwhile, Vlatko Cancar (left knee surgery), DaRon Holmes II (right Achilles tendon) and Payton Watson (right knee sprain) are out.
- We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!
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You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.