Nuggets vs. Thunder Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
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Charlie Grant
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets travel to Oklahoma City to face Chris Paul and the Thunder in a possible first round playoff matchup in the Western Conference. OKC hopes to hand Denver its first divisional loss this season when the two sides play on Friday night.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Nuggets are four games back of first place in the West after losing to the conference-leading Lakers just before the All-Star break. Denver is still 7-3 straight up and against the spread (ATS) over its last 10 games.
The club is a perfect 10-0 against the number in its last 10 games against the Thunder including earlier this season when it won 110-102 as a 5.5-point home favourite back in December. The Nuggets are averaging 119.3 points per 100 possessions over their last seven games. The Over is 6-1 during that same run of games.
Denver has the sixth shortest odds to win the NBA championship at Sports Interaction. The online sportsbook lists the Nuggets at +1500 to win the title. Only the Milwaukee Bucks (+250), Los Angeles Lakers (+300), Los Angeles Clippers (+310), Toronto Raptors (+1200) and Houston Rockets have better odds.
Oklahoma City is the best spread bet in the NBA. The squad is 36-19 ATS and 33-22 SU despite losing Russell Westbrook and Paul George in the offseason.
The bulk of the ATS success comes away from home. The Thunder are 21-5 against the number on the road and 15-14 ATS at home this season. Even more troubling for OKC backers: their team is just 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS in its last five home dates.
Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic started the campaign slow but he’s rounding into shape nicely for Denver supporters. The big man is averaging 24.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists over his last 15 games. Those numbers differ quite a bit from what he was putting up in the first month of the season.
The Serbian centre isn’t the only Nugget on a hot streak. Canadian combo guard Jamal Murray is shooting 46.2 percent from 3-point range on more than seven attempts per game this month.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Murray isn’t the only Canadian kid on the court in this contest. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Thunder in scoring at nearly 20 points a night. The Toronto native was the prize acquisition – along with all those first round picks – in the Paul George trade with the Clippers. The second-year guard seems poised to be the next NBA star in Oklahoma City.