Lakers First Round Schedule vs. Nuggets Revealed

The Los Angeles Lakers clinched the seventh seed on Tuesday night with their Play-In win over the New Orleans Pelicans. This sets up a first-round matchup against a familiar foe, the Denver Nuggets.

The reigning champions, who swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last season, finished the regular season as the second seed with a 57-25 record. The Lakers will have revenge on their mind as they try to take down the West favorites.

The NBA just announced the schedule for the first-round matchup. The series starts on Saturday in Denver with the first two games there, before moving to Los Angeles on Thursday, 4/25.

Lakers-Nuggets First Round Playoff Schedule

The Lakers need to win one of the first two games in Denver. As an older team, the Lakers have a disadvantage as the series goes on, especially considering the altitude in Colorado. Only one day's rest between Game 6 and 7, which will include travel, will make for tired legs for the deciding game.

Lakers-Nuggets Series & Game 1 Odds

The Nuggets are starting Game 1 and the series as the heavy favorites. They are 7-point favorites for Saturday's matchup. For the series, the Lakers are +315 underdogs while Denver is -400 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

It is important to remember that despite a sweep, last season's series was actually relatively close. The average margin of victory for Denver in those four games was 5.75, making it one of the closest sweeps in NBA history.

The Nuggets have the same starting five as they did last season and all of their key pieces are entering the postseason healthy and available. The Lakers certainly have a mountain to climb but everyone should know better not to count out LeBron James.

There is no better time to get in on the action ahead of the NBA Playoffs by heading over to FanDuel and signing up to get $150 in bonus bets after your first $5 bet.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.