Tonight, at 5:30 p.m. PT on ABC, the 47-35 Los Angeles Lakers ' bid to capture their 18th NBA title tips off in earnest, as they'll open the playoffs on the road against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets .
LA's postseason officially began on Tuesday. The team played a 7-8 matchup against the higher-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, but a 110-106 Lakers victory helped the Lakers leap up into the seventh seed... and a first round date against the Nuggets, generally considered the favorites to at least emerge out of the Western Conference this season.
Had Los Angeles thrown the game , the team would have been playing the Sacramento Kings in a second play-in meeting Friday, for the right to become the No. 8 seed and suit up against the Oklahoma City Thunder this weekend. LA is 3-1 against the Thunder this season and 0-3 against the Nuggets. But the Lakers are also 0-4 against the Kings this year, so winning Friday's game was no gimme.
Today, the Lakers are currently listed as +6.5 underdogs against the Nuggets in this opening game, per. All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both expected to submit big nights, with 24.5 points and 23.5 listed as their respective over/unders, but oddsmakers are less optimistic about the rest of the team.
Nikola Jokic D'angelo Russell Rui Hachimura
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