Posted on
1/21/2008 8:53:08 PM
NBA Basketball Betting – Nuggets at Lakers
By Charles Jay
The Denver Nuggets (24-15 SU, 18-19 ATS) will be in double revenge mode when they visit the Staples Center on Monday night to face off against the Los Angeles Lakers (26-12 SU, 21-16 ATS) in NBA action scheduled for 10:30 PM ET tipoff.
In the BetUS NBA basketball betting odds, the Lakers are listed at -4, with the total posted at 226 points.
In the HEAD-to-HEAD NBA basketball betting trends:
* LA has won 17 of the last 25 meetings SU
* LA has won 19 of the last 21 meetings SU as the home team
* LA has had the shooting edge in six of the last nine meetings
* LA has made more three-pointers in seven of the last nine meetings
* DEN has had the rebounding edge in six of the last seven meetings
Denver leads the league in rebounds, pulling down 45.4 per game. The Nuggets average 107.3 points per contest, and give up 104.3. They average 9.1 steals a game and turn the ball over 15.4 times a contest. Also:
* DEN has covered two of its last six games
* DEN has won nine of its last 13 games SU
* DEN has played four of its last six games OVER the total
* DEN has lost eight of its last 12 road games SU
* DEN has played four of its last five road games OVER the total
The Lakers rank just ahead of Denver in league scoring, with 107.6 points a game, and give up 101.5 points a game on 44% shooting. Los Angeles shoots 47.2% from the field, which is third in the league. Also:
* LA has covered one of its last five games
* LA has won seven of its last eight games SU
* LA has covered two of its last six home games
* LA has won nine of its last 11 home games SU
Denver is having some personnel problems, as Nene is still out of the lineup and Kenyon Martin is listed as day-to-day with a staph infection. But the Nuggets still have two of the top four scorers in the league in Allen Iverson (27.1 ppg) and Carmelo Anthony (25.8 ppg). The Nuggets want some revenge over a Laker squad that came to Denver and won a 111-107 decision on December 5 and before that, blasted out the Nuggets at the Staples Center by 28 points on November 29.
Things did not go well for the Lakers in their two games since losing Andrew Bynum, the 20-year-old center who was leading the league in shooting percentage. Kwame Brown, taking Bynum's place, turned the ball over seven times against Phoenix, and was booed so roundly by fans that he, in his own words, "went into a shell a little bit and didn't carry the threat of a shot even when they kept giving it to me."
This is not the best piece of news when he has to face one of the NBA's best defensive pivot men, Marcus Camby, who is averaging over 14 rebounds and four blocked shots per game.
Because we see Bynum's absence as something that upsets the offensive balance of the Laker team, we'll take the points with Denver, the four-point underdog in the BetUS NBA basketball betting odds.
BetUS NBA betting odds: LAKERS -4. Total 226
JAY'S PLAY: DENVER
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(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a freelance writer and handicapper who not only can make his shots from the top of the key, but also contributes with gusto to the BetUS Locker Room)