Denver Nuggets Los Angeles Lakers Game 6 Predictions
Written May 28, 2009 by Jason Lowry
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As bad as the Lakers have looked at times in this series, they are the ones in complete control after there 103-94 game 5 victory in LA. The Lakers now have a 3-2 series lead over the Denver Nuggets, who will try and even up the series and force a decisive game 7 with a game 6 victory Friday night in Denver. In game 5 it wasn’t Kobe Bryant that did all the damage, Bryant still had a team high 22 points, but the rest of the team came to play. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 10 rebounds, both Trevor Ariza and Dereck Fisher had 12 a piece, and Andrew Bynum had 9 to round out the starting lineup. The real story for the Lakers was the outstanding play of Lamar Odom off the bench. Odom had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who dominated the Nuggets down low. For the Nuggets Carmelo Anthony had a game high 31 points, but his partner in crime Chauncey Billups had just 12 points. Kenyon Martin also added a dozen, and Linas Kleiza off the bench was the only other Nugget to score in double figures with 10. Nene played just 26 minutes with foul trouble, scoring just 4 points with 8 rebounds, but the real story was the ice cold shooting of J.R. Smith off the bench. Smith had just 7 points on 3-13 shooting. With game 6 just around the corner, here is a look at what I think each team needs to do to win, plus my prediction on who comes out on top against the spread.
What the Lakers need to do to win: The Lakers have had trouble winning these big games on the road in the last two series, so it will be interesting to see if they can finally change that around and head back to the NBA Finals for the second straight year. I think the Lakers had a great game plan in game 5, as they used some of their star players as decoys to get other players involved. Gasol complained about his number of shots prior to game 5, but instead of going to Gasol more the Lakers went to other players like Bynum and Odom. If Odom can play anywhere like he did in game 5, the Lakers have a great shot at winning this game. The stat I really like for the Lakers in game 5 was the 25 assists the team put out. I also though the bench play was much better than it has been all series, as the Lakers outscored the Nuggets bench 34-26. With the game in Denver the Nuggets are going to come fired up and ready to go, but if the Lakers can move the ball and guys other than Bryant and Gasol can hit their shots, this team is going to be hard to beat. Bet the Lakers +5 to win game 6 at Sportsbook.com.Â
What the Nuggets need to do to win: The fact the Anthony was pretty much the entire offense for the Nuggets in game 5 and they were tied going into the 4th quarter, says something about where this game could have gone if the rest of the team would have hit some shots. Billups had just 12 points on 4-7 shooting, but when the Nuggets needed that big shot late in the game, he was no where to be found. After the big men dominated game 4, the inside gam wasn’t much to speak of, and that will have to change the rest of the way if the Nuggets want to be the ones heading to the NBA Finals. What I really think hurt this team was the fact that J.R. Smith couldn’t get it going after having such a huge game 4. When Smith comes off the bench and is hitting shots, the Nuggets chances of winning increase greatly. Look for the Nuggets to come out firing on their home floor, and I don’t see any reason why if this team plays up to its potential the series won’t be heading back to LA for a game 7. Bet the Nuggets -5 to win game 6 at Sportsbook.com.
My Prediction: Nuggets -5. As poorly as the Nuggets played in game 5, they had a chance to win on the road, so I have a pretty good feeling that this team is going to head back home and take care of the Lakers in game 6. Look for Billups and Smith to have a much better night from the floor, as I got the Nuggets winning this one by 8-10 points.Â
For those of you looking to do some NBA betting on the game this Friday, be sure to check out our expert NBA picks and grab the latest NBA odds at Betfirms.
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2 Responses to “Denver Nuggets Los Angeles Lakers Game 6 Predictions”
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crazy chef gordon ramsey should be hired to give lakers a motivational locker room pep-talk before each game.phil jackson’s 12 million dollar ‘hippy’ technique simply doesn’t cut the mustard !
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I beleive Denver won’t respond well enough as a team facing real pressure and referreeing, after plenty of scrutiny, that won’t be overwhelmingly favorable. Kobe Bryant has not exerted supreme effort since game 2 and he is poised to give whatever he needs to ensure the Lakers win the game 6.
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