Published
Updated
Author

Denver Nuggets are furious because of Game 1 and the officiating in the same. Jokic and the boys want to get even with the Lakers and tie the series at 1-1.

  • Lakers had 32 free throws in the first half.
  • Jokic earned his fourth foul early in the fourth.
  • Anthony Davis was very dominant, while LeBron revealed his frustration regarding 

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets Preview

Game 1 saw terrible officiating with the refs pushing the Lakers in the second period, once they whistled against the Nuggets on 16 occasions, awarding 24 free throws to the purple and gold. But that wasn’t the only controversial thing in this event. Jokic, Murray, and Millsap had three fouls already in the second period. Many of the NBA analysts agreed on the fact that the Nuggets were heavily damaged in this event.

When: September 20, 7:30 pm ET

Where: Orlando, Fla

How to Watch: TNT, NBA Game Pass

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets Odds

LakersNuggets
– 7.5 -110+7.5 -110

LeBron’s Anger Lakers Fuel

LBJ was very upset because he didn’t win the fifth MVP award in his career. He even mentioned the number of first-place votes received, revealing that the ballot hurt him greatly, as he expected more recognition from his colleagues. 

This might be a perfect situation for the LAL because they have “pissed off” James, who is a monster of his own even without motives. Just imagine what he would be fired-up.

Meanwhile, Anthony Davis is cool as always. The Eyebrow scored 37 points and had 11 boards in Game 1, using the fact that Jokic had problems with fouls. Throughout the entire playoffs, AD was the guy who was taking care of his job, letting LeBron handle all the media pressure and off-field factors.

Nuggets to Fight the Adversity

Jamal Murray stated that his team has to count on numerous negative factors because they are new faces on the block, with many youngsters, but without a reputation like the Lakers.

It was really awful to watch how Scott Foster and his colleagues damaged the Nuggets, calling for some ridiculous fouls from Murray, Millsap, and Jokic. Denver’s leading duo scored 21 points apiece, but that wasn’t enough to restrain the Lakers. 

We believe that Michael Porter Jr might be of great help for Michael Malone ans his side, as he plays very well and has that attitude towards all the other rivals that they aren’t better than him. He had no respect against the purple and gold, and for sure, after what happened in Game 1, the youngster will be even more motivated to punish Frank Vogel’s side in Sunday’s contest.

Prediction

There’s no way of seeing LAL having the same help from the officials as in Game 1. It would be very degrading for the reputation of the entire league to see that. The spread on the Nuggets is +7.5 points, and we don’t think that James and the boys manage to cover it. 

Denver is an excellent crew, the one that plays the best in tough moments. And right now, the Nuggets are in bad position.