Denver Nuggets vs. Toronto Raptors Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Charlie Grant
Toronto’s late-season swoon is shaking the confidence of the club’s supporters with the playoffs only two weeks away. Can Dwane Casey get his team to recommit to playing defence before the end of the regular season? Tuesday’s NBA matchup will be a test going against Kitchener, Ontario native Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Nuggets lost 123-104 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night and dropped to 40-34 straight up and 33-38-3 against the spread on the season. Only 13 of Denver’s 40 wins have come on the road and the club is 14-21 ATS in away dates.
For years the Nuggets have excelled at filling the hoop on offence and fail miserably on defence. The club is tied for the sixth most points per game (109.7) and only nine teams allow more points a night (108.5) than Denver. The over is 19-7-1 in the Nuggets’ last 27 games.
Toronto is coming off an 11-point setback against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday and is 0-6 against the spread in its last six games. The Raps have lost three of their last five games outright while giving up 115.8 points per contest over the same period. The over is 4-2 in the Dinos’ last six matches and 37-36-1 on the campaign. The Raptors are still first in the Eastern Conference at 54-20 but now just three games ahead of the second-seeded Boston Celtics.
Toronto and Denver have a history of putting on a show in recent meetings. The over is 9-1-1 in the last 11 games between the Raptors and Nuggets.
Denver Nuggets
Paul Millsap was supposed to be the missing piece that would propel Denver to the postseason for the first time since 2013. The former All-Star power forward was seen as the perfect piece to share the frontcourt with franchise centre Nikola Jokic but Millsap hurt his wrist early and missed a good chunk of the year.
The Nuggets are 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the West but they’re making their final push without their leading scorer. Shooting guard Gary Harris has missed the last five games because of a sore knee which means a bigger role in the offense for second-year combo guard Jamal Murray. The Canadian kid is averaging 16.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists on the year.
Toronto Raptors
The defence is becoming an issue in Toronto. The Raptors are 26th in the league in defensive rating (114 points allowed per 100 possessions) over the last five games. Casey’s crew is still the only squad the Association ranked inside the top five of both offensive and defensive rating this season.
