The Los Angeles Lakers (27-25) and the Denver Nuggets (35-16) square off in a Western Conference duel on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. For this game, SportsLine consensus lists the Nuggets as 3.5-point favorites, while the over/under is 230 (see up-to-date odds for every game this week on our NBA odds page). 

Before you make any Nuggets vs. Lakers picks, you NEED to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

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 NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 16 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 51-33 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $1,700. Anyone following it has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows Denver center Nikola Jokic thrives all over the floor. Jokic piles up rebounds in the lane with good passing skills to create offensive opportunities. The six-time All-Star is 12th in the NBA in points (26.3) but fourth in both rebounds (12.2) and assists (9). On Jan. 29 versus the Bucks, Jokic notched 25 points, 16 boards, and 12 assists.

The model also knows Los Angeles forward LeBron James (ankle, questionable) thrives in many different areas. James explodes to the rim but has a reliable mid-range jumper. The 20-time NBA All-Star averages a team-high 24.9 points while ranking eighth in the league in assists (7.6). In his last game, James finished with 26 points and seven assists.

The model has simulated Nuggets vs. Lakers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time!

Who wins Nuggets vs. Lakers, and which side of the spread hits in almost 60% of simulations? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the model on a 51-33 roll on top-rated NBA picks!