Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) is fouled, on a 3-point shot, by Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) in the final second of regulation in an NBA basketball play-in tournament game Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Los Angeles. Conley made three free throws to send the game into overtime. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Lakers (43-39, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (53-29, first in the Western Conference)
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Nuggets host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers to begin the Western Conference finals. Denver and Los Angeles tied the regular season series 2-2. The Nuggets won the last regular season matchup 122-109 on Jan. 10. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 34 points, and Russell Westbrook led the Lakers with 25 points.
The Nuggets are 34-18 against Western Conference opponents. Denver ranks fourth in the Western Conference with 55.0 points per game in the paint led by Nikola Jokic averaging 18.5.
The Lakers are 27-25 in conference matchups. Los Angeles is 19-19 in games decided by 10 or more points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is shooting 63.2% and averaging 24.5 points for the Nuggets. Murray is averaging 2.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Denver.
Anthony Davis is averaging 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and two blocks for the Lakers. LeBron James is averaging 23.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists over the past 10 games for Los Angeles.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 116.5 points, 43.4 rebounds, 25.3 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.3 points per game.
Lakers: 7-3, averaging 112.8 points, 46.9 rebounds, 25.0 assists, 7.3 steals and 6.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.2 points.
After two incredibly close games, the Super Bowl matchup is set. On February 13th, at the SoFi stadium in Inglewood, California, the Los Angeles Rams will face off in their home stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. After 54 Super Bowls where a home team never hosted the game on its field, it will now happen for the second year in a row, after Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs last year. Speaking of Brady, ESPN dropped a bombshell of a headline Saturday that Tom Brady was set to retire after 22 seasons and seven rings. To discuss all the latest NFL news, Anthony Tall, President of Miracle Sports Group, joins Cheddar News.
In January alone, the gaming sector has seen three major acquisitions. Yesterday, Sony added to the flurry of M&A activity in the gaming space, snatching up game developer 'Bungie' for $3.6 billion dollars. Renee Gittins, executive director at the International Gaming Developers Association, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
NFL legend Tom Brady says he is done playing football after 22 seasons. Cheddar News speaks with Trey Wingo, Chief NFL Analyst at Pro Football Network, about Brady announcing his retirement.
Greg Bishop, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says Tom Brady's legacy is all about 'progress' and expects the future Hall of Famer to bolster his entrepreneurial ventures following his retirement.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics; Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, discusses the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Predicting a Pro'.
Jim Riordan, Director of the MBA Sport Management program at Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the successes, failures, and chaos of the first seven months of the Name, Image, Likeness policy in college athletics.
Adi Kunalic, President of Opendorse, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the first-ever association-wide deal in college athletics between Opendorse and the NAIA, and how Opendorse is marketing and educating student-athletes to make the most of their NIL deal potential.
With the Beijing Winter Olympics set to get underway on Friday, Dan Wolken, a national columnist for USA Today, joined Cheddar News to break down the big storylines as the pandemic and international conflicts threaten to cast a cloud over the event that is aspirationally seen as a beacon of international cooperation. Wolken noted specific issues over cybersecurity for visiting athletes and disputes over human rights leading to a diplomatic boycott have been making waves even before the opening ceremony. "So you've got sort of these barbs going back and forth already between the Americans and the Chinese, and things haven't even started yet," he said. "We don't even know what's going to happen once the games start and people actually start winning medals."