The Nuggets are 2-2 against the spread (ATS) after losing 119-108 on the road in Game 4 Saturday, closing as a 3.5-point road favorite. Denver was 3-0 ATS and straight up against the Lakers during the regular season. C Nikola Jokic has averaged a triple-double throughout the 4 games, notching 29 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 10 assists per game.
The Lakers started their postseason with a 110-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament. The Lakers are 3-2 ATS in their 5 postseason games this season and ended the regular season 38-44 ATS. F Anthony Davis is averaging 30.5 points and 15.8 rebounds per game. The Nuggets (-300) are 6-1 against the Lakers (+245) this season and 3-0 against them at home. Expect Denver to come out on top and close out the series, but there’s no value in betting the Nuggets to win.
Los Angeles has the talent to keep this close and has impressed when its back is against the wall. In the in-season tournament final against the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers won by 14, closing as a 3.5-point favorite. They also beat the Pelicans to get into the playoffs.
Truth behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ 0-3 deficit to the Denver Nuggets
Los Angeles has the talent to keep this close and has impressed when its back is against the wall. In the in-season tournament final against the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers won by 14, closing as a 3.5-point favorite. They also beat the Pelicans to get into the playoffs.
Not counting the not-so-secret tunnels inside of Crypto.com Arena, there were — at most — 100 feet between the cozy interview room in which Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was explaining how long it takes to to build a championship team Thursday night after his team took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-round playoff series, and the makeshift, cavernous room in which L.A.’s LeBron James and Anthony Davis were trying to reckon with how quickly their championship hopes were fading.
“You need two or three years to learn how to play with each other,” Jokic said, before launching into an abridged history of his time and all the teammates he has had in nine seasons with the Nuggets.
“You need to learn your teammates. His steps. If he’s going to go left hand. If he’s going to go right hand. It’s everything.”
Down the hall, James had just concluded his news conference by saying he couldn’t say how or what any of his teammates were thinking after the fourth consecutive playoff game in which the Lakers had squandered a double-digit lead to the Nuggets and their 11th consecutive loss to Denver overall.
“It’s hard for me to just be like, ‘This is what I think that guy feels,'” James said. “I can’t do that. I’m not a mind reader. I don’t know.”
There have been plenty of harsh truths revealed during this series, which could be headed for the same kind of “competitive sweep” as last season’s Western Conference finals if Denver can close out L.A. in Game 4 Saturday evening, but none more stinging than the culture gap between the two franchises that Jokic’s and James’ comments made clear.
In one room, a future Hall of Famer was talking about nearly a decade’s worth of culture and team building. In the other, a future Hall of Famer was lamenting the disconnect within his own locker room.
In one room, Jokic was naming former teammates such as Gary Harris and Jameer Nelson, who had helped Denver find its championship identity. In the other, James was deliberately not naming any of his current teammates — outside of Davis — so as not to further destabilize what is already a sinking ship.
“We have a very resilient group and a very high IQ group, so when we need to make adjustments, we make them very quickly and we execute them very quickly,” Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said. “I mean it’s kind of a telepathy we got, man. We got a mind meld going on.”
If and when the Nuggets close out this series, they’ll turn their attention to a likely second-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who took a 3-0 series lead Friday night against the Western Conference’s other top-heavy, culture-lacking franchise, the Phoenix Suns
Jamal Murray’s status in jeopardy for Game 5 vs. Lakers because of calf injury
Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray’s playing status is in jeopardy for Game 5 of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night after he was listed as questionable with a left calf strain on the injury report. Murray was nursing the calf during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 119-108 loss at Los Angeles on Saturday night that snapped Denver’s 11-game winning streak against LeBron James and the Lakers.
He didn’t leave the game but was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report Sunday. Murray has struggled with his jump shot during the defending NBA champions’ first-round playoff series despite hitting the winning buzzer-beater in Game 2. Murray has shot 38% from the field and 21% from beyond the arc in the playoff series against the Lakers after shooting 48.1% overall and 42.5% on 3-pointers during the regular season, which were both career bests. Murray missed 23 games this season while dealing with hamstring, knee, ankle and shin ailments, including seven straight down the stretch.
The Lakers could be getting a little boost for their bench. They listed forward Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain) as questionable Sunday for the first time since the defensive stalwart got hurt more than two months ago. The Nuggets, who are the No. 2 seed in the West, are one win away from advancing to a second-round matchup against the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, whose 122-116 win at Phoenix on Sunday night gave them the franchise’s first sweep and first series win in two decades.
The Lakers are trying to make history and become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 playoff series.
Anthony Edwards makes a beeline for Kevin Durant after Timberwolves record historic sweep over Suns
For the first time in 20 years the Minnesota Timberwolves have won an NBA Playoff series – and it was their first sweep in franchise history.
Anthony Edwards had another stunning game with 40 points, proving too much for the Phoenix Suns as they lost 122-116 and were eliminated from the postseason after just four games. Devin Booker had 49 on the night and Kevin Durant had 33, the latter being Edwards’ NBA idol.
Charles Barkley Has Two-Word Warning for Nuggets About Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards showcased his undeniable talent on Sunday night, delivering a stellar performance with 40 points, 31 of which came in the second half, along with nine rebounds and six assists.
His remarkable performance propelled the Timberwolves to a Game 4 victory over the Suns, securing a series sweep over Kevin Durant’s squad.
As Minnesota now awaits the outcome of the Lakers-Nuggets series, the anticipation builds for a potential matchup between Nikola Jokic’s Denver team and the surging Timberwolves.
NBA legend Charles Barkley, foreseeing a Nuggets victory over the Lakers, issued a succinct but ominous warning to Denver about the threat posed by Edwards.
CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders on Broncos taking Bo Nix in 2024 NFL draft
Shedeur Sanders is on the clock. But even he’s not sure that the Broncos will have time for him now. When asked after CU’s Black & Gold Game at Folsom Field if he was disappointed to see Denver draft a future franchise quarterback in Bo Nix, the Buffs signal-caller smiled and said
“Yeah, man. I don’t know what’s next now.
What’s next for Sanders, the 6-foot-2 senior who threw for 27 touchdowns in 11 games for the Buffs last season, is summer workouts and a ramp-up to preseason camp. The Texas native, who played late last season with a fractured back, threw without pain on a wet field Saturday and said later that he was “feeling great right now. Sanders, son of CU coach Deion Sanders, is widely projected to be one of the top two or three quarterbacks taken in the 2025 NFL draft. CBSSports.com’s ’25 mock draft, which posted Saturday morning, projected the younger Sanders to be the No. 1 overall pick next spring, where he’d be taken by the Carolina Panthers.
Heat’s Game 4 injury report vs. Celtics features return of key player
In terms of the player that is returning, it will be Delon Wright who missed Game 3 due to a “personal family matter,” but is listed as “probable” for Monday night. Wright joined Miami through the buyout market as he left his last team with the Washington Wizards to join an organization that has a winning background, plus has a little familiarity as his brother, Dorrell, played for the Heat from 2004-2010.
Wright has been a defensive presence for Miami and even showed out on offense in Game 1 of the series where he made five three-pointers. When asked about his absence and the other injuries that follow the team, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said before Game 3 that he’s more focused on finding different ways to beat Boston.
“We’re not even thinking about that,” Polestar said when asked about the injuries. “The challenge is the Boston Celtics, you know, they present some challenges that we have to dive into the competition and find a way. Maybe a different way than the other night but that’s the bottom line collectively for 48 minutes or more, wrap your mind around doing some ridiculously tough things and that’s what the playoffs are all about.
Shedeur Sanders on Broncos taking Bo Nix in 2024 NFL draft:
Coach Prime last month told the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast that he expects both his son and two-way star Travis Hunter to be among the first four players taken in the ’25 draft, and that there are “certain cities” where he’d prefer Shedeur didn’t start his pro career. It’s going to be an Eli,” the elder Sanders said, referring to QB Eli Manning, who was traded from the Chargers to the New York Giants after he said he wouldn’t play for the former.
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