NBA Picks: Lakers vs Nuggets NBA Odds – April 8, 2010: It is always entertaining when the (55-22) Los Angeles Lakers [+1½] and the sports betting odds favorite (51-27) Denver Nuggets [-1½] get together on the same court, as physical play will be guaranteed and constant for 48 long minutes. With less than a week remaining in the NBA regular season, the Lakers would like nothing more than to inch closer to clinching the best record in the Western Conference by defeating a team they’re almost guaranteed to see in the NBA Conference Finals.

Last season, Los Angeles proved to be both tough minded and capable of playing physical, as it eliminated the bruising Nuggets in six punishing games. Needing all the help they can get in order to repeat as champs, the Purple and Gold hope to get center Andrew Bynum back soon, but not tonight.

"I'm not holding my breath on a timetable," Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday. "Obviously, we'd like to have him play a couple games at the end of the (regular) season, but this morning I told him if that's not possible, we'll take whatever we can get in the playoffs at that time."

Struggling the down the stretch like they have, the defending champs need to start building some positive momentum and avoid going into the 2010 postseason limping. “We should be just aware, aware of what the possibilities are when we don't play as well, when we have a couple mistakes that we shouldn't have,” LA Center Pau Gasol said. “We want to end these last five games on a good note so we feel good about ourselves going into the playoffs, which is important.”

For the Nuggets, they have absolutely manhandled the Lakers during the NBA regular season winning two of their three matchups thus far. This game has significant importance because a win would clinch the series victory over LA should these teams end the season in a tie. Although this is highly unlikely, as the Nuggets would have to win out and the Lakers suffer a major collapse, it’s still in the realm of possibilies.

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