The Los Angeles Lakers are facing a must-win matchup as their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets heads to California. On Thursday night, LeBron James & Co. will take on the Nuggets in Game 3 to avoid digging themselves a 3-0 hole that will be impossible to climb out of.
In both games of the series so far, the Lakers held a double-digit lead before squandering it away in the second half. They will certainly feel like they should have won at least one of those games but they can’t let themselves be demoralized against the well-oiled machine that is the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets. They have to go out there and do it again with 100% intensity, discipline, and effort to give themselves a chance to make this series competitive.
Nuggets vs. Lakers Game 3 Best Bet and Prediction
The Lakers will go all out in Game 3, meaning both Anthony Davis and LeBron James will play as many minutes as they can physically handle. The extra day of rest between the games will give both stars additional energy for Game 3. The Lakers will likely feel like this is their best chance to win a game against the Nuggets so they will start the game strong.
Similar to how the first two games of the series went, the Lakers have a good chance to win the first half. The home-court advantage will give additional edge to Los Angeles who will certainly want to avoid back-to-back sweeps against the same opponent.
The Nuggets certainly have the advantage in the fourth quarter thanks to their flawless execution, but the Lakers will likely keep things close and competitive until then.
It’s also fair to expect another slow-paced game. Both games in the series so far had 91.3 and 92.9 paces (number of possessions per team in 48 minutes) (regular-season average is 98.5) as both teams like to slow things down and control their offense in the half court. That trend should continue, and considering that the Lakers are doing a good job against Denver on the defensive end while struggling to score themselves on the other end, should make for another low-scoring affair.
