The Western Conference’s two best teams will meet Friday night in LA, but unfortunately the game’s two biggest stars may not be on the court. The Lakers have opened as 8.5-point favorites tonight vs. the Nuggets, a game that will be on ESPN, but both Carmello Anthony and Kobe Bryant are listed as questionable for the matchup, making it hard to project what bettors will do between now and tip-off.

Anthony, who is tied with Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant for the #1 scoring average in the league, has missed 11 of his team’s last 17 games, including the last six, due to a sprained ankle. He has already publically stated that it would take a “miracle” for him to play Friday night, so you shouldn’t be counting on his presence.

Denver has managed to go 7-4 straight up with Carmello out of the lineup, but is just 5-6 ATS in those games. They are off a rare home loss Wednesday night, getting blown out by Phoenix 109-97 as seven-point favorites.

With Anthony out, Chauncey Billups, a late addition to the All-Star team, has had to pick up the slack. He did not do a good job of doing so against the Suns, shooting just 5 of 14 and scoring only 11 points.

If Bryant plays, he will be coming off a season-low of five points (2 of 12 shooting) in a 99-97 home win over the Charlotte Bobcats. The team did not cover as it returned home for the first time following an eight-game, 12-day road trip. Kobe is currently listed as a “game time decision” with foot and ankle injuries. The ankle was originally sprained last Friday in Philadelphia and he left the Charlotte game with soreness in his foot. He, of course, has been playing with a broken finger on his shooting hand for much of the season.

The Lakers have dominated the Nuggets here in LA, taking 21 of the 23 meetings since Bryant came into the league in 1996-97. Los Angeles has the best home record in the league at 24-3, but did suffer their worst loss of the season on November 13th in Denver, 105-79, the team’s only prior meeting this season.

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