Filip Tomic
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The NBA weekend tips off with a 10-game Saturday slate and we have ourselves a big game in Denver as the Nuggets welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to town. Catch that game live on NBA TV at 9:00 pm ET.
In the past 5 days I’ve landed 3 same-game parlays and I’ve prepared another for tonight’s game which you can find below! Don’t forget to also check our predictions on the side and total for the rest of Saturday’s games.
Let’s focus on the Lakers and Nuggets now!
Malik Monk over 17.5 points (+100)
Russell Westbrook under 0.5 threes (+106)
Nikola Jokic to score 30+ points (+138)
Parlay odds: +807
Malik Monk over 17.5 points (+100)
With Anthony Davis out for a while now, Malik Monk has been doing exactly what people expected Russell Westbrook to do – be LeBron’s sidekick on the offensive end for the Lakers. In his last 9 games he has averaged 20.2 points per game while shooting 52% from the field and an unreal 50% from downtown. He’s also lethal from the charity stripe, shooting almost 91% during this stretch. He has gone over 17.5 points in 7 of his last 9 games and so far in 2022 he has had just 1 bad game, which was against Memphis. The Nuggets will once again be shorthanded in the backcourt and with the Lakers opting to play fast again there will be plenty of opportunities for Monk to catch fire. In 3 of his last 4 games against Denver he has scored 16 points, so fingers crossed he can surpass that tonight.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for LA Lakers vs Denver Nuggets
Russell Westbrook under 0.5 threes made (+106)
To say that Russell Westbrook has been struggling in the new year would be an understatement. He might be playing the worst stretch of his illustrious career right now. His shooting splits over the past 10 games are 38% from the field, 19% from 3-point land and just 66% from the free-throw line. He is averaging 16 points per game, while turning the ball over 3.7 times per contest. So far in 2022 he is shooting 0% (yes, ZERO percent) from 3-point land, missing on all 15 of his attempts over the past 6 games. He hasn’t made a 3-pointer in more than 2 weeks and I’m not sure that streak will end tonight in Denver. The Nuggets are holding teams to just 33.8% shooting from downtown, which is 7th-best in the NBA. His confidence has clearly taken a hit with all these bad shooting nights and this bet is just too good to pass up at these odds.
Nikola Jokic to score 30+ points (+138)
Jokic has been fairly consistent in averaging 25 points per game over his last 10 games and although he hasn’t scored 30 in the last 3 outings, I’m confident that will change tonight. The Lakers play at the 2nd-fastest tempo in the league and that will certainly speed things up, which will lead to more scoring opportunities. LA has had a tendency to start LeBron at the center position, and because of that their last 3 opponents have averaged 123.3 points per game against them. Only 3 teams in the NBA are worse when it comes to defending the paint than LA. They give up an average of 49.7 points per game in that area and with no Anthony Davis and most likely no Dwight Howard, they won’t have the inside presence in this one to slow down Jokic. Expect a big night from the MVP.
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