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Thursday night's marquee NBA matchup sees the Denver Nuggets travel to face reigning champions, the LA Lakers, at the Staples Center.
After losing twice in a row last week, the Lakers were quick to turn their fortunes around. They finished up their Eastern Conference road trip with a hard-fought victory over the Boston Celtics before brushing aside the Atlanta Hawks.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have begun to turn their early season inconsistencies into wins and have gone 7-3 over the past ten matchups to rise up the Western Conference standings.
Restoring order to the standings, the LA Lakers have forced their way back to third place in the West, and it appears their losses were but a minor blip in what could be another Championship season for the franchise.
While not firing on all cylinders offensively, the Lakers have the best defense in the league. However, they will have their work cut out for them against a Denver Nuggets side who have just overcome the in-form Utah Jazz.
Denver Nuggets vs LA Lakers Prediction: Combined starting 5
After going through two exhausting seven-game series last year, the Denver Nuggets were defeated easily at the hands of the LA Lakers.
This time around, the Nuggets will be out for revenge and are beginning to look like the side that fought their way back against both the Clippers and Jazz.
Nikola Jokic is playing at an MVP-caliber level and has been dominating all centers before him this season.
Let's take a look at who made the cut in our combined starting 5 for this fixture.
Guard - Dennis Schroder (LA Lakers)
The LA Lakers' key offseason acquisition, Dennis Schroder, has been leading the line on defense.
In the past two fixtures, the Lakers' defense have limited two of the East's best offenses, in the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks, to under 100 points, with Schroder restricting the former's starting guards to only 4 points each.
On offense, Schroder is averaging 13.6 points and 4.2. Though not as prolific as he has been with his previous teams, the German was not brought into the LA Lakers to be the team's leading scorer. He was bought to be a floor general who could take some of the ball-handling pressure off LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Guard - Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)
Jamal Murray's form played a role in the Denver Nuggets' rocky start to the season but no one can blame the guard after the postseason turnaround the Western Conference finalists had.
Given his incredible run during the playoffs, Murray was expected to kick on this year. Unfortunately, the guard has had to battle injuries to his elbow and niggling pain in his shooting arm.
However, he has not let down his teammates during this time and continues to average career-high points with 18.9 to go along with 4.4 assists.
Forward - LeBron James (LA Lakers)
The LA Lakers have the best defense in the NBA and are once again favorites to take the Western Conference. No combined starting 5 would be complete without their leader, on and off the court, LeBron James. The forward, even at the age of 36, is still dominating the league and is at the top of his game.
James is currently averaging 25 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.5 assists and has played in every one of the Lakers' 22 matchups. He has done it all so far in his 18th season and is in prime position to take the LA Lakers back to this year's NBA Finals.
While taking more threes than ever before, King James is sinking them at a career-high rate of 40.9%.
Forward - Anthony Davis (LA Lakers)
Joining LeBron James in our forward pairing is his LA Lakers teammate, Anthony Davis. The 27-year-old has had to overcome niggling injuries during the early parts of the season but is still one of the league's premier end-to-end players.
He is averaging 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals this season - impressive for a player that has publicly criticized his own defending.
On the offensive end, Davis is averaging a 7-year low of points with 22.3. However, as mentioned before, the LA Lakers have the luxury of Davis starting cold with their deep roster. He still remains one of the most menacing players to defend in the league and can create a dynasty with the Lakers, alongside LeBron James.
Center - Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Rivaling LeBron James for MVP is the Denver Nuggets center, Nikola Jokic. The Serbian has taken his game to a whole new level this season.
Averaging almost 7 more points than last season with 26.8, Jokic has been the Nuggets' driving force through their patchy start. The center has also secured a double-double in each of his side's 20 games so far and is averaging a near triple-double with 11.8 rebounds and 8.6 assists.
Against the in-form Utah Jazz on Sunday, Jokic dropped a phenomenal 47 points and 12 rebounds and has subsequently been named Western Conference Player of the Month.
