The Los Angeles Lakers are done with their short, three-game road trip, as they now head home for a four-game home stand. They start their home cooking against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday evening, in a matchup against Brian Shaw’s team.
Shaw, who spent six years as an assistant coach for the Lakers, is currently 3-0 against them in his early coaching career with the Nuggets, as he looks to add on another victory.
However, Shaw’s secret weapon against the Lakers has been Timofey Mozgov. Last season, Mozgov averaged 18.7 points per game in three games against Los Angeles, which was his highest average against any opponent. Somehow, the Lakers were not able to figure out ways to stop him last season, and they should definitely be prepared for him in this game.
Aside from Mozgov, the Denver bench will be another concern for the Lakers. The Nuggets have the third best bench in the league and, as we witnessed on Friday night, the Lakers struggled against the Mavericks bench, who were ranked sixth at the time.
Nick Young was partially the reason why the Lakers bench was unable to match the scoring of the Mavericks second unit, as he only scored five points. Making his season debut in front of the home crowd, Young should be able to have a bounce back game.
The Nuggets are coming into this game with a three-game winning streak, including a win on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have built a lot of momentum and seem to have found their stride. Additionally, they have been healthy, which has helped them maintain their depth.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are coming off a notably successful road trip, as they went 2-1 against three tough teams. They did, however, get crushed by the Mavericks by 34 points but will look to put that in the past. Health has still been a worry for the Lakers, though. They, as we know it, have three guys out with major injuries. In addition, Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin were held out of Saturday’s practice. Fortunately, it’s just for precautionary reasons and both are expected to play in this game, but they are bothered by a shoulder and back injury respectively.
This is possibly the easiest game the Lakers will have in their schedule so far, which means they will have to take full advantage. Kobe Bryant had a dreadful shooting night on Friday, so expect him to come out more aggressive. Jordan Hill has notched five straight double-doubles, as he looks to continue that streak in this game.
Both teams are very similar. They are both bottom five in defense but top 10 in offense. We could absolutely expect a high scoring, offensive affair, filled with plenty of excitement.
Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers win