Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Keys to beating the Denver Nuggets
By Ethan Temkin
The 17-3 Los Angeles Lakers are set to take on the 13-4 Denver Nuggets in a battle of the top Western Conference teams. Here are three keys for a Laker victory.
After a convincing loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to bounce back and take care of business against the Denver Nuggets Tuesday night. In what should be an exciting matchup between the two top teams in the Western Conference, there is a little cause for concern on the Lakers end.
The injury to Avery Bradley, coupled with the addition of defensive liabilities in Rajon Rondo and Kyle Kuzma into the rotation, has affected the Lakers on that end. However, after ranking in the middle of the pack in offensive rating to start the season, the Lakers have risen to 8th, while maintaining a strong net rating of +8.1.
However, the Nuggets have been just as good, ranking a surprising 1st in defensive rating with a net rating of +5.0. The offense has been struggling, but a team as good as the Nuggets have the ability to explode on any given night.
On the injury front, the Nuggets are going into the game 100% healthy. For the Lakers, Avery Bradley is still projected to miss the next several games from a foot injury, but in the meantime, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has stepped up big time.
The Lakers are about to embark on a remarkably tough December schedule, where twelve out of their fourteen games will be against legitimate playoff contenders. In order to start this month of strong, here are three things the Lakers need to do to come out of Denver with a victory.