The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers meet for the second time in less than a week, and I’ve got two prop picks for the game.
The pregame narrative: Austin Reaves is shaping into an elite scorer and I expect another big performance in the absence of LeBron James. My other pick is on Denver’s Christian Braun.
Check out my Nuggets vs. Lakers prop picks for March 19.
Nuggets vs. Lakers prop picks
Best Bet: Reaves over 25.5 points (-118)
James is ruled out for the Lakers and that means Reaves will have the green light on offence.
In eight games without LeBron this season, take a look at what Reaves has done:
- 28.6 points per game
- 49.0 FG%
- 43.9 3PT%
- 6-2 against this line
On March 14, he had 37 points against the Nuggets in Denver on a 13-of-26 shooting performance.
The Lakers have had their most success when rotating Luka Doncic and James, but when the King is out it’s Reaves who steps into the role.
And the same should be expected on Wednesday. The Nuggets have the 12th-worst defensive rating in the NBA (116.5).
That is reflected in the high game total currently set at 233.5. That’s a lot of points, and if it gets near this number, Reaves should be heavily involved.
At that point, it becomes about efficiency. Luckily, the 26-year-old guard has proven to score at a high level while maintaining elite shooting splits.
Key stat: LeBron has missed the last five games, and Reaves scored 26 or more in four of those contests.
Quick pick
Braun over 13.5 points (-110): The Nuggets may not have the best defence but their offence more than makes up for it. The team ranks tied for second in offensive rating (120.9).
Since Feb. 1, Denver is 15-6 and Braun has stepped up his production.
- Over that time, Braun has averaged 17.3 points per game.
- He’s been hyper-efficient, knocking down 56.7% of his shots and 39.4% of his 3s.
- He is 14-6 against this line during that span.
The 23-year-old missed Denver’s last game with an injury after being probable on the injury report. If he goes tonight, I expect him to take on a normal workload.
If he can’t suit up, no harm done as this prop pick would be voided.
Nuggets vs. Lakers prop picks made at 10:51 a.m. ET 03/14/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.