Prior to the pause for the All-Star Game, US basketball offers us a fancy dish when Los Angeles L., first place in the Western Conference, gets into the Pepsi Center of Colorado to measure himself before his escort, Denver, in a clash of quintets who have seen their faces twice so far in the campaign and the visitor has always imposed themselves, so Nikola Jokic and company want to end this trend.
Both franchises arrive with four victories in their last five duels, but Californians can argue that, despite tripping over at the Staples Center, they did it before a squad that is also fighting for the first places, Houston, while Denver was surprised at their visit to Detroit, where they fell 128-123 in overtime last February 2, so they can say that 10 days of that bump are already on the road.
LeBron James and company already know what it is to get away with the victory of the Pepsi Center since, last December, both he and Anthony Davis combined for 50 points in the 105-96 win and now they will seek to replicate this formula, which is not It worked for them months later at home since they succumbed 128-104 and that is why the annual series is paired in a win by side and the tiebreaker will take place Wednesday night in Colorado.
The advantage seems to be on the side of the visitors on this occasion since they arrive relatively healthy and their adversary has some elements with discomfort, which can limit them in the rotations and in their eagerness to stop a team that only has five trips which goes away from home this year, in exchange for 22 victories, which represents a better record than they have on the west coast, particularly in Los Angeles.