Western Conference Finals: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers
Best-of-seven series
Los Angeles Denver odds: Lakers -275
Game 1: Tuesday, 9:00 PM ET

The Denver Nuggets have been the hottest team in the NBA playoffs so far. Overall, they have won 22 of their last 28 games while scoring more than 100 points in 25 of those contests. The Nuggets burned up the New Orleans Hornets and the Dallas Mavericks each in five games and are 8-2 in the playoffs so far. What makes them look even better is some of their blowout wins, including a 58-point victory over the Hornets.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have looked very sluggish. The Lakers didn’t have much trouble with the Utah Jazz in the opening round but had plenty of trouble with the Houston Rockets. The Rockets were without Yao Ming and without Tracy McGrady, but the Lakers still needed seven games to dispose of the pesky Rockets.

But it’s because of the way that these two teams enter this series that you get the best sports odds on the Lakers. The Lakers were -500 to win the Western Conference at the beginning of the playoffs but now are just -275 to win this series.

Sure, they have given a half-hearted effort but they won’t do so in this series. After seeing what the Nuggets are capable of, they know that they won’t be able to take them lightly.

The Nuggets have had plenty of struggles against the Lakers in the past. Carmelo Anthony’s averages drop against the Lakers and as a team, they don’t seem to match up well.

The problem for them has been that they are a high-scoring team, but the Lakers averaged more points per game in the regular season. The Nuggets have been outscoring everyone during their torrid pace but that plays into the hands of the Lakers perfectly.

The Lakers are 7-0 this postseason when scoring 100 points or more and just 1-4 when they fail to reach that mark. Against the defensive-lacking Nuggets, the Lakers should hit that number every game and walk to a series win.