Posted on 1/21/2008 4:00:28 PM

Bet on NBA - Denver Nuggets (+ 4) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (- 4)

By D. S. Williamson

We have to forgive the Los Angeles Lakers if they forget that today is MLK Day in the states. After all, the loss of Andrew Bynum was a huge blow. Now, they’ve lost forward Trevor Ariza to a broken bone in his foot. Things are not pretty in Laker land. Even though the injury to Ariza doesn’t look horrible on paper, he was only averaging 5 points and 3 rebounds, make no mistake, friends, this one could be devastating.

With that in mind, here are some trends in tonight’s match-up:

The Los Angeles Lakers are 5 and 0 against the spread in their last 5 games versus a team with a winning straight-up record.

The Los Angeles Lakes are 4 and 0 against the spread in their last 4 games following a straight-up loss.

The Denver Nuggets are 4 and 1 against the spread in their last 5 games following an against the spread loss.

The Denver Nuggets are 1 and 7 against the spread in their last 8 meetings in Los Angeles.

Is there any reason to believe that the Nuggets have a chance in this one? Hell, yes! The problem that the Lakers are going to face now that both Ariza and Bynum are out is that they have absolutely nobody to go to in the post. Lamar Odom likes to play on the perimeter and Kwame Brown is simply one of the worst offensive players in the NBA.

Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby should have their way tonight versus a team. Sure the Nuggets are absolutely atrocious on the road both straight-up and against the spread, but they catch Lakers at a vulnerable time. Denver still has two of the top ten most talented players in the NBA in Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. Don’t look now, but the Nuggets have only lost fifteen games this year. That’s a better record than both the Portland Trailblazers and Orlando Magic.

Are the Nuggets quietly turning into a force in the Western Conference? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Becky. Instead, let’s just say that the Nuggets have a terrific shot at posting a money-line win tonight.

Greed is good, Gordon Gekko said. I agree with him in this game. Greed is good. Let’s kick the Lakers while their down and take their lunch money. Hey, there is no love lost in gambling.

The BetUS NBA betting line is Denver Nuggets is + 160 to get a rare win in Los Angeles versus the Lakers tonight.

My money will be on Denver and the money-line. The Lakers can’t be feeling good about themselves because of the injuries to both Bynum and Ariza. Nobody on the Lakers’ squad has any faith in Kwame. Strike while the iron is hot the old saying goes!

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