Vaughn Dalzell breaks down how he’s betting Game 2 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.
Lakers at Nuggets (-5.5): O/U 227.0
Game 1 was amazing and Game 2 should be another dandy as the Nuggets won 132-126 as both teams combined to shoot 54.8% from the field and 46.4% from three!
We should expect a downtick in scoring for Game 2 and one, or both, of these squads to struggle shooting after bringing the heat in Game 1. However, I will focus on the first quarter and full game rather than the total for the best bets.
The Lakers trailed at the end of the first quarter, 37-25, and at halftime by a score of 72-54. Despite that, Los Angeles outscored Denver 38-34 in the third quarter and 34-26 in the fourth quarter, obviously finding momentum and something that worked.
Los Angeles figured out how to guard Nikola Jokić by fronting him with Rui Hachiumura and leaving Anthony Davis behind him for help. This limited Jokic to 3 fourth-quarter points after scoring 31 points in three quarters. Denver made some incredible shots in Game 1 en route to 54.9% from the field and 46.9% from three.
While the Nuggets looked like the best offense in the NBA, I will have to fade them in Game 2. Teams that go on big fourth quarter runs usually bleed over in the next game of the first quarter and I am not sure Denver will make the necessary adjustments early on to slow the Lake Show down.
Los Angeles was down by 20 and stormed back to lose by six with an opportunity to tie the game with a LeBron James three-pointer around 45 seconds remaining. If LeBron doesn’t shoot a three and gets to the rim, the Lakers might have won that game, but I will take Los Angeles in Game 2.
In played the Lakers 1Q +2 at -110 odds and rolled it back on the spread of +5.5 (-110) and ML (+175).
Pick: Lakers 1Q +2 (Risk 1u), Lakers +5.5 (Risk 1u), Lakers ML (Risk 0.5u)
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