The Los Angeles Lakers are back in action on Saturday night hosting the Denver Nuggets, who have won 12 of the last 13 meetings, including two postseasons series’.
After beating Denver in the Western Conference Finals in 2020, the Nuggets have had the Lakers’ number ever since. That is due in part to Nikola Jokic being seemingly unguardable and L.A. not having the backcourt presence to contain Jamal Murray.
Although, in the first matchup between these two teams this season, the Nuggets are on the second night of a back-to-back, losing at home to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. It was a close game and Denver exerted a lot of energy, coming back from down 24 points but ultimately came up short.
For the purple and gold, they are coming off a stunning and disappointing loss to an Orlando Magic team without Paolo Banchero. Hopefully, the Lakers can channel those frustrations from their first home loss and focus on beating another high-quality opponent.
From a coaching perspective, it will be interesting to see head coach JJ Redick’s defensive schemes to try to contain an explosive Nuggets offense. However, L.A.’s defense has struggled guarding the perimeter and finishing defensive possessions with rebounds so far this season.
Thankfully, Rui Hachimura is returning to the lineup after a three-game absence to add more size and help those rebounding problems. Everyone has to keep their head on swivel as Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., Russell Westbrook and Christian Braun could be candidates to hurt the Lakers rebounding-wise.
Another thing to watch is bench scoring as both teams are known to have lackluster production from their second units. With Dalton Knecht transitioning back to a bench role, he should hopefully put together another strong offensive game to bring a spark to L.A.
The aforementioned Westbrook is Denver’s sixth man and is expected to bring an edge playing against his former team. However, the Lakers cannot afford to have him or Julian Strawther come in to add more scoring to an already dominant starting group for Denver.
Anthony Davis is getting his first true test of the year by guarding the best player in the league and monitoring that matchup with Jokic is always fun. Porter is known to shoot the ball well against L.A., as is Murray, who is looking to bounce back from a rough shooting night on Friday.
It is fair to say there is going to be a motivated Nuggets team in Crypto.com Arena looking to prove a point after a disappointing loss. The Lakers should be just as motivated to avenge their playoff loss though, which should make for a competitive matchup.
Los Angeles Lakers (10-5) vs. Denver Nuggets (8-6)
7:30 p.m. PT, Saturday, November 23, 2024
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet, NBA TV
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Austin Reaves
SG: Cam Reddish
SF: LeBron James
PF: Rui Hachimura
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: D’Angelo Russell, Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, Max Christie, Christian Koloko
Projected Nuggets Starting Lineup:
PG: Jamal Murray
SG: Christian Braun
SF: Peyton Watson
PF: Michael Porter Jr.
C: Nikola Jokic
Key Reserves: Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, DeAndre Jordan
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