Filip Tomic
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After just 4 games were on the NBA slate yesterday, we have a 10-game night coming our way on Friday. My focus is on the Nuggets vs Lakers clash, as they meet up for the 3rd time this season. Tipoff is at 10:00 pm ET and I have prepared a Same Game Parlay below.
Head over to our NBA predictions page for picks on the side and total for tonight’s 10-game slate.
Let’s dive into the Nuggets vs Lakers game now!
Anthony Davis to score 30+ points (+110)
Nikola Jokic over 8.5 assists (+106)
LeBron James over 2.5 threes (+104)
Same Game Parlay odds: +924
Anthony Davis to score 30+ points (+110)
If you haven’t been impressed by the play of Anthony Davis as of late, I don’t know what to tell you. This man is averaging 31.8 points per game over his last 8 outings, going over 30 points in 5 of his last 6. He has been aggressive, taking the ball to the basket and playing like the AD we saw back when he was with the Pelicans. In each of the last 3 games he has gone to the free-throw line more than 10 times, which just shows you he isn’t afraid of injuries anymore and is putting his body on the line.
Against the high-scoring Nuggets, I’m expecting another productive night. He has scored at least 22 points in 4 straight against them and with the oddsmakers setting the projected total at 237 points here, they are counting on both teams to deliver offensively. The Lakers have a tendency to score a lot in home games this season, and AD going over 30 is a must if they want to stay competitive in this one.
Nikola Jokic over 8.5 assists (+106)
Nikola Jokic will have a thing or 2 to say about the outcome of tonight’s game. The Joker is coming off a historic performance in a win over Washington, collecting 43 points, 14 rebounds. 8 assists and 5 steals in just 33 minutes of play while shooting 85% from the field. He has recorded at least 9 assists 4 times in his last 7 outings while averaging 9.1 per game in his last 10 played. Against the Lakers he has gone over 8.5 dimes 3 times in the last 6 meetings. With the likes of Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Bones Hyland all scoring at a high clip, he has plenty of options to get the ball to on offense.
The Lakers are also 1 of the worst teams in the league when it comes to stopping the opposition ball movement; they are allowing 26.3 assists per game this season, which ranks only 26th in the league. In their last 3 that number is up to 28.3, so I expect Jokic to do a lot of damage.
Our NBA Friday Mega Parlay has +956 odds!
LeBron James over 2.5 threes (+104)
Denver’s 3-point defense is a concern this season, ranking just 25th in opponent 3-point percentage by allowing 37% of makes per game. In the Nuggets’ last 3 that’s up to 41.7%, and on the road for the season they are at 38.5% — which is the 6th-worst mark in the entire NBA. That’s all good news for LeBron James, who comes into tonight’s game with a 39.2% efficiency from 3-point land in his last 9 outings. He is coming off a 3-for-11 effort in the loss to Boston at home, and for the month of December he is making 2.2 threes per game.
He settles for 3s far more often than ever before in his career, mostly because at this stage of his career he is no longer able to go past his defenders so quickly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he took another 10 threes in tonight’s game. All he needs is to hit 1 early and his confidence will be there.
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