Play Now <br> <a href="https://picks.cbssports.com/college-basketball/ncaa-tournament/bracket" class="">Men's Brackets</a> <br> Play Now <br> <a href="https://picks.cbssports.com/college-basketball/ncaaw-tournament/bracket" class="">Women's Brackets</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/the-early-edge-a-daily-sportsline-betting-podcast/" class="">A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast</a> <br> <a href="/podcasts/fantasy-football-today-podcast/" class="">NFL Draft is coming up!</a> <br>The defending champion <a class="Annotation-link" href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/DEN/denver-nuggets/">Denver Nuggets</a> will aim for their 10th straight victory over the <a class="Annotation-link" href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/LAL/los-angeles-lakers/">Los Angeles Lakers</a> when they meet on Monday night. It is Game 2 of their 2024 NBA playoffs series, with Denver leading 1-0 after an 11-point victory on Saturday. The Nuggets swept the three-game regular season series between the two, in addition to a four-game sweep in last year's postseason. Both teams have 39 wins against the spread this season, with Denver at 39-42-2 ATS and L.A. at 39-45-1 versus the line.<br>Tipoff is at 10 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver. The Nuggets are 7-point favorites in the latest Lakers vs. Nuggets odds, per SportsLine consensus. The over/under for total points is 224. Before making any Nuggets vs. Lakers picks, <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/lakers-vs-nuggets-odds-line-spread-proven-model-reveals-2024-nba-playoffs-picks-for-first-round-game-2-matchup-on-monday/#ttag=04222024_agg_cbssports_picks_basketball_nba_model_LakersNuggetsGame2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">be sure to check out the NBA predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model</a>.<br>The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/nba/picks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA picks</a> over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters the second week of the 2024 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 90-58 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,800. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.<br>Now, the model has set its sights on <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/nba/game-forecast/NBA_20240422_LAL@DEN/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles vs. Denver</a> and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/lakers-vs-nuggets-odds-line-spread-proven-model-reveals-2024-nba-playoffs-picks-for-first-round-game-2-matchup-on-monday/#ttag=04222024_agg_cbssports_picks_basketball_nba_model_LakersNuggetsGame2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks</a>. Here are the <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/nba/odds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA odds</a> and betting lines for Nuggets vs. Lakers: <br>Denver is both 4-0 straight-up and against the spread against the Lakers this season. Since the start of last year's playoffs, the Nuggets are 13-8 ATS in the postseason, which is the second-best mark in the league (min. seven games). Additionally, Denver is 5-1 against the spread over its last six games overall, including the regular season, while the Lakers are just 2-4 ATS over their last six.<br>On the court, few can match the balance of Denver, which ranks fifth in offensive rating and eighth in defensive rating. It has six different players averaging in double-figures, and its best players elevate their games in the postseason. <a class="Annotation-link" href="/nba/players/2135542/nikola-jokic/">Nikola Jokic</a> has a career regular season average of 20.9 points that jumps to 27.6 in the postseason, while <a class="Annotation-link" href="/nba/players/2202752/jamal-murray/">Jamal Murray's</a> scoring average increases from 17.5 in the regular season to 24.9 in the playoffs. <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/lakers-vs-nuggets-odds-line-spread-proven-model-reveals-2024-nba-playoffs-picks-for-first-round-game-2-matchup-on-monday/#ttag=04222024_agg_cbssports_picks_basketball_nba_model_LakersNuggetsGame2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">See which team to pick here</a>.<br>Lakers center <a class="Annotation-link" href="/nba/players/1992786/anthony-davis/">Anthony Davis</a> is a two-way force, as evident by his standout Game 1 performance. Davis supplied 32 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. He's coming off a stellar regular season in which his rebounds (12.6) was a career-high while his assists (3.5) was his second-highest, to go along with 24.7 points and 2.3 blocks.<br>He's a big part of a highly efficient offense as the Lakers finished the regular season ranking second in field goal percentage, eighth in 3-point percentage and sixth in points per game. On defense, the Lakers can stretch to the perimeter as they allowed the third-fewest made 3-pointers and the sixth-lowest 3-point percentage. Meanwhile, <a class="Annotation-link" href="/nba/players/400553/lebron-james/">LeBron James</a> was his typical otherworldly self during his 21st NBA season as he shot his best 3-point percentage of his career (41%) and had his highest field goal percentage (54%) since donning the purple and gold in 2018. <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/lakers-vs-nuggets-odds-line-spread-proven-model-reveals-2024-nba-playoffs-picks-for-first-round-game-2-matchup-on-monday/#ttag=04222024_agg_cbssports_picks_basketball_nba_model_LakersNuggetsGame2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">See which team to pick here</a>.<br>SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the total, projecting just four players to reach 18 points. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in nearly 60% of simulations. <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/lakers-vs-nuggets-odds-line-spread-proven-model-reveals-2024-nba-playoffs-picks-for-first-round-game-2-matchup-on-monday/#ttag=04222024_agg_cbssports_picks_basketball_nba_model_LakersNuggetsGame2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You can only see the model's pick and analysis at SportsLine</a>. <br><strong>So who wins Nuggets vs. Lakers, and which side of the spread cashes in almost 60% of simulations? <a href="https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/lakers-vs-nuggets-odds-line-spread-proven-model-reveals-2024-nba-playoffs-picks-for-first-round-game-2-matchup-on-monday/#ttag=04222024_agg_cbssports_picks_basketball_nba_model_LakersNuggetsGame2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Lakers vs. Nuggets spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $2,800 on its NBA picks this season</a>, and find out.</strong><br>© 2004-2024 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved.<br>CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.<br>Images by Getty Images and US Presswire<br><br><a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMijAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYnNzcG9ydHMuY29tL25iYS9uZXdzL2xha2Vycy12cy1udWdnZXRzLW9kZHMtc2NvcmUtcHJlZGljdGlvbi10aW1lLWxpbmUtMjAyNC1uYmEtcGxheW9mZi1waWNrcy1nYW1lLTItYmVzdC1iZXRzLWZyb20tdG9wLW1vZGVsL9IBkAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYnNzcG9ydHMuY29tL25iYS9uZXdzL2xha2Vycy12cy1udWdnZXRzLW9kZHMtc2NvcmUtcHJlZGljdGlvbi10aW1lLWxpbmUtMjAyNC1uYmEtcGxheW9mZi1waWNrcy1nYW1lLTItYmVzdC1iZXRzLWZyb20tdG9wLW1vZGVsL2FtcC8?oc=5">source</a>
