Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets
Pick: Click here for expert NBA basketball picks | Bet: Click here to bet on this game | Odds: Click here for current odds

The top two teams in the Western Conference shoot it out at the Staples Center on Sunday afternoon when the Denver Nuggets (39-19, 27-28-3 ATS) face off with the Los Angeles Lakers (44-15, 25-32-2 ATS) in an NBA betting bash. The Nuggets have won three in a row, including a 107-102 win at home against Detroit on Friday night. Los Angeles has to be looking over its shoulder for both Denver and Dallas. The Lakers have dropped five straight against the basketball betting lines and are only 3-2 SU in that run. Los Angeles enters Sunday afternoon 4.5 games ahead of Denver for the #1 seed in the Western Conference.

There aren’t many teams in the NBA that can run up and down the court like the Nuggets can. They’ve averaged 116.0 points per game in their L/3 overall, raising their average to 107.7 points per game on the season. F Carmelo Anthony hasn’t quite lived up to his scoring average of late, but he has scored at least 23 points in five straight games. G Chauncey Billups has picked up the slack in a big way. He has scored at least 25 in his L/4, averaging 29.0 points per game. His scoring averaging is up to 20.3 points per game, and Billups and Anthony make up just one of the three duos in the NBA on the same team to average 20+ points per game.

The Lakers have a heck of a scoring duo of their own. G Kobe Bryant is scoring 27.7 points per game, while F Pau Gasol is up to 17.3 per game. Gasol and C Andrew Bynum are combining for 19.2 rebounds per game, which is why Los Angeles is averaging the second most rebounds in the NBA this season. HC Phil Jackson’s team hasn’t scored 100 points since February 16th, which is very uncharacteristic for a team that is averaging 102.7 points per game.

Earlier this month, the Nuggets shocked Bryant and the Lakers at Staples Center 126-113 as eight-point underdogs. Anthony didn’t even play that day, but Billups scored a whopping 39 points on 12/20 shooting (and 9/13 from beyond the arc). Los Angeles got 33 points from Bryant and double digits in scoring from five others.

Visit Touthouse.com for more NBA basketball picks from our professional sports handicappers. Be sure to sign-up for our free sports predictions newsletter for exclusive betting information from our experts. Preview Courtesy of North Shore Sports Inc.

If you enjoyed this article then you may be interested in:

1. Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers Betting Odds, Pick & Prediction: February 5th 2010
2. NBA Betting Odds: Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers Free Pick: April 28th
3. NBA Betting: Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers Odds & Predictions: May 29th 2009
4. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets Betting Odds & Picks: May 19th 2009
5. Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets Betting Odds, Pick & Prediction: January 21st 2010