Opening night of the 2023 NBA season is upon us. The Denver Nuggets will host the Los Angeles Lakers in what is set to be a special night. The Nuggets will raise their first NBA Championship banner in franchise history. They get to do so in front of their home crowd, and in front of the team they swept in order to reach the NBA finals a season ago.

The Lakers have not won an opening night contest since 2016, sitting at 0-5 in since Lebron James brought his talents to the Hollywood scene. The Nuggets are 4-1 in their last five season openers and play extremely well at home. 34-7 in the regular season, and a 10-1 home record throughout the playoffs.

The key pieces for both teams are mainly in tact. The Lakers did bring in some new faces as they were definitely overmatched when Jokic, Murray and crew ended their exceptional playoff run a season ago. Adding Christian Wood, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent and Jaxson Hayes looks to help the Lakers defend the perimeter and inside game, while bolstering the offense from behind the arc. The Nuggets look to run it back with the same core, minus key contributor Bruce Bown and veteran Jeff Green. Denver brought in Justin Holliday, and pre season rookie standout, Julian Strawther to fill the void.

Can anyone stop the combination of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray? Jokic was, and is a huge problem down low, as well as the perimeter. We witnessed this for four games in last years WCF, and was a huge reason the Nuggets took care of the Lakers in four straight. The guard play of Murray was at an MVP caliber in itself and posed issued for LA all series long. The Lakers will need contain Murray and the guard play, while matching the physicality of this Nuggets team down low if they hope to steal one on the road.

Lebron and company may be a little extra hyped for this one with the off-season “beefing” with the Nuggets head coach Mike Malone. Malone was called the Lakers’ daddy by by Nuggets broadcaster Vic Lombardi at the championship parade. Lakers players took note, and head coach Darvin Ham wants all the smoke. “This s**t ain’t over. God bless his soul” said Ham. This may have been done in more fun and social media frenzy, but either way the Lakers have kept a receipt.

One thing is for sure. Denver will be rocking on opening night with their celebration in front of their home crowd. The Nuggets are a favorite to make a repeat run, while this Laker team is primed for a championship run as well. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the 2023-2024 NBA Season.

Best Bets: Lakers vs Nuggets

Anthony Davis Over 0.5 3 point field goals made(-105): Head Coach Darvin Ham has said he wants to see AD much more involved in the three game. His words were “6 three point attempts a game”. In limited preseason action, we saw this take place. Look to AD to take 4-5 threes here tonight, and all we need is 1 to find the bottom of the net.

Michael Porter Jr Over 20.5 Pts/Reb/Ast Combined(-125): MPJ is a matchup nightmare. He is long, quick and an all around great player. He can stretch the floor as an exceptional three-point shooter while also attacking the basket. He will look to make the extra pass, and can grab a rebound on both sides of the court. Don’t be surprised if Porter Jr. hits this number on just points scored alone.

Lakers Moneyline(+190): This one will not be easy. Denver a combined 44-8 at home last season. It will be an emotional night with the banner being raised, and the Lakers are definitely looking to make a statement here. This Laker team is loaded up, and fired up. LA can steal one to start the year and the big PLUS money here is real nice.

“Bet Only What You Can Afford To Lose”

-SoCalBallNerd