Denver Nuggets vs. Toronto Raptors Prediction, NBA Odds
The Raptors and Nuggets both sit in a playoff spot at sixth place in their respective conference’s standings. Toronto has been on a tear, winning eight straight games, including a 139-120 dub in Houston on Thursday. Denver fell 108-102 in Boston to the red hot Celtics on Friday, but the Nuggets managed blowout wins over the Nets and Knicks in the two games prior.
The Raptors are 3.5-point favourites to win on the NBA odds, with a total of 225.5.
Nuggets vs. Raptors NBA Betting Odds
This has been a fairly even head-to-head series over the last few years. The teams have split the last 10 meetings, including both games last season. The Raptors won 135-111 in Toronto last March and the Nuggets won 121-111 in Denver last April. The home team has won the last five matchups.
Denver has thrived against Eastern Conference teams, winning six of their last seven interconference games. They’re 25-30 against the spread overall this year and have covered in four of their last five games. The Nuggets have also covered in 10 of their last 12 against Toronto. High scoring games have been a trend for this team, with the total going Over in 11 of Denver’s last 16 games.
The Raptors have played well above expectations this year and haven’t lost at home since Jan. 23. That unexpected success has led them to go a healthy 32-21-1 ATS for the season and they’ve covered in all eight games of their current win streak. The total has gone Over in Toronto’s last five home games and five of their last six overall.
Denver Nuggets
It’s a quick turnaround for Denver following their loss in Boston on Friday. Nikola Jokic recorded his 71st career triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. Aaron Gordon added 17 points. Jokic continues to be the biggest part of this team, putting up eight triple-doubles over the last 14 games. Last year’s league MVP averages team-highs in points per game (25.8), rebounds (13.7, second in NBA), assists (7.9), steals (1.4) and blocks (0.7). The Nuggets led by nine points at the half in Boston, but they were outscored 57-42 over the final 24 minutes and coughed up a costly 21 turnovers in the game.
Canadian Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are still out of the lineup with no exact timeline to return, but there’s hope they’ll each be cleared to play before the end of the regular season. Murray hasn’t played since suffering a torn ACL near the end of last season. Porter hasn’t played since leaving a game on Nov. 6 early with a back injury.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto’s eighth straight win on Thursday is even more impressive when you factor in that it was the second half of a back-to-back. Gary Trent Jr. is playing the best basketball of his career, scoring a season-high 42 points against Houston. It was Trent’s seventh game with at least 30 points this season. Pascal Siakam added 30 points, the sixth time he’s hit the 30-point mark this year. Chris Boucher also had a strong game, finishing with 16 points off the bench. Fred VanVleet sat out with left groin soreness and is listed as questionable against Denver.
Siakam, VanVleet and Trent have been major factors in the Raptors’ surprisingly strong play. Siakam is averaging a team-high 21.8 ppg and 8.7 rpg. VanVleet averages 21.6 ppg and a team-high 7.1 assists. Trent is averaging a career-high 18.8 ppg and team-high 2.0 steals.
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