The Los Angeles Lakers can finish off the stubborn Denver Nuggets this coming Saturday with a win and advance to the NBA finals. But again, the Nuggets have been hard to kill in the playoffs, and coming out alive form a 3-1 series hole is nothing new to them. Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers NBA Western Finals Game 5 on September 26, 2020
Where: Walt Disney World, Orlando
When: Saturday, September 26, 2020, 7:30 PM ET
Line: Denver Nuggets (+6) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (-6) – view all 2020 NBA lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Denver Nuggets (+6)
Regular Season Record: 46-27
The Nuggets can’t just hope that being down 3-1 again will trigger for miracles to happen in their favor, just like what happened in the previous two rounds. But what the Nuggets can expect in Game 5 is Jamal Murray showing up. Murray is doing a fantastic job of carrying Denver in the playoffs, and in Game 4, he paced the Nuggets once again with 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field. He also played 45 minutes, not because Mike Malone wanted Murray to pass out, but because the Nuggets simply needs to squeeze every ounce of anything they can get out of the guard. It’s unfortunate for the Nuggets that they have been wasting the efforts of Murray with their lackadaisical defense. Malone lamented his team’s defense in the postgame interview after Game 4, which could be a sign of a major change in the way he shuffles the roster in Game 5.
The Nuggets are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as the road team. The under is also 3-1-1 over that stretch.
Betting on the Los Angeles Lakers (-6)
Regular Season Record: 52-19
Looks like starting Dwight Howard was a great call for Lakers head coach Frank Vogel. The Lakers opted to insert Howard into the starting lineup in Game 4 and benched JaVale McGee, and the result was a double-double night for the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year. Howard scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while also helping put Nikola Jokic in early foul trouble in 23 minutes of action. Expect the Lakers to keep Howard in the starting lineup, but the team will still run on the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James posted 26 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in Game 4, while Davis put up 34 points and five rebounds. The Lakers are having success with Davis and Howard because outside of Jokic, no one’s really stepping up in Denver’s frontcourt. Paul Millsap is now just a shell of his former self, while Mason Plumlee is nothing more than a cardboard cutout when he’s on the floor. With how things are going for the Lakers, it seems that the ticket to the finals is there for the taking for them on Saturday.
The Lakers are 5-4-1 against the spread in their last 10 games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
The Lakers win, 112-107.
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