Lakers-Nuggets Game 1: When it's all over, we like the over

The next few days are all about the NBA, and the action begins in Denver between the Lakers and Nuggets. Game 1 should be a treat, and we're opting to make the viewing experience that much sweeter with this betting approach.

Give us points in two ways tonight between Lakers-Nuggets

The NBA conference finals begin tonight out West between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, and we're liking points scored.

The over/under is set at 222.5 points, a total that has easily hit in three straight meetings between these two and six of the past seven games. The average total points scored in Lakers-Nuggets games over the past two seasons has been 238.29, easily outpacing the set O/U for this evening.

On the road during this playoff run, the Lakers have found themselves in some high-scoring games, going over tonight's total in three straight and four of six. Denver has been a bit more balanced in games regardless of location and has still surpassed 222.5 points in six of 11. 

The Lakers have been the fourth-most profitable team to the over when they're on the road, forcing games to go over at a 63.8% rate, which is something we'd like to follow this evening as both teams look to find a groove in Game 1.

Betting: Over 222.5 points (-110 DK)

Beyond the over, there's also some value in loading up the most correlated props possible for our read: points props.
 
DraftKings has a boosted promotion we highly recommend you opt into tonight. DK is offering a +125 boost on Nikola Jokic 25+ points & LeBron James 20+ points.

That +125 price is nice value, if you build it out manually in the SGP tool it comes to just -130.

Jokic is averaging 30.7 points per game this postseason, scoring 25+ in eight of his last 10 games. He's finished with 25+ against Los Angeles in three of the past five meetings.

LeBron has dropped 20+ points in 12 of 13 games during this playoff run and three of his last four against Denver. Grab the two studs tonight, and thank you to DK for getting us in the mix with a nice value promo.

Betting: Nikola Jokic 25+ points, LeBron James 20+ points (+125 DK, opt into boost on the NBA page)

In the news ...

NHL conference finals set — The Stars took down the Kraken in Game 7, 2-1, setting the scene for the two conference finals. Dallas will be facing off against the Vegas Golden Knights, with the series starting Friday in Vegas. The Golden Knights are -140 to win the series. Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes will get going on Thursday in Carolina, and the Hurricanes are -135 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

NBA conference finals both rematches from the bubble year — Three years after the NBA was forced to host its postseason in a bubble in Orlando, we've got the same four teams back in the conference finals, which helps to destroy the bubble narrative that has followed that season. The Nuggets are -160 to advance past the Lakers, and the two teams split their four meetings this year. The Celtics are -525 to win the East for the second straight year over the Heat, even with Miami winning two straight against Boston.

Mage opens as Preakness Stakes favorite ahead of Saturday's race — The second leg of the Triple Crown is set for Saturday, and the odds for who wins the Preakness Stakes are now live. Kentucky Derby winner Mage is the favorite as expected, coming in at 3-1. The race is a smaller field, which may open up betting value for a horse like Disarm, who did well at the Derby and will not have to face a few of the horses that it fell short of two weeks ago. Disarm is 12-1 to win the Preakness Stakes. The race is set for 6:50 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll