While the Lakers did lose, the team should feel proud that they were able to fight with so many crucial role players missing. Even rookie Bronny James saw decent game action against the Nuggets. James finished the game by playing 16 minutes for Los Angeles. During that time he scored five points and grabbed two rebounds.

The Lakers have now fallen to fifth in the Western Conference standings after losing to the Nuggets. Yet, the loss wasn't all bad for them. This game allowed Bronny James to get some real playing time. He played 16 minutes in this game, which is the most playing time he has seen in Los Angeles.

Even though Bronny James isn't playing in the G League on a consistent basis, he has been showing some real signs of growth and development.

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SportsLine's model simulated the Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers 10,000 times and revealed its NBA picks for Friday

The Los Angeles Lakers (40-24) and Denver Nuggets (42-24) are all set to square off from Ball Arena in Denver. The Lakers had a challenging game last night against the Milwaukee Bucks. They were down big for much of the game and couldn’t generate offense outside of Luca Doncic.