Ptong, IMHO U have gone to the other extreme of excessively long ground times ! Perhaps if U get lucky in DEN, U can standby for an earlier flight to LAX to have enough time to rent a car & enjoy the afternoon in L.A. !
I personally would prefer your original schedule, taking the risk of maybe 24 hours in L.A.--or even flying domestic on Jan. 6 to have a deliberate 1-day stopover in L.A.