San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets Betting Preview
The Spurs and Nuggets are set to do battle, with this looking like a possible must-win for San Antonio. They have spent much of the year over .500, but their last loss against Cleveland dropped them to 24-24, and things are not looking so good. You don’t just get blown out by a struggling club.
There is a good chance that as long as the Spurs skid doesn’t get too big, they will be able to find their way into the play-in. They probably want to make the playoffs outright, but the teams ahead of them likely won’t slip down far enough for this to be the case. There is young talent up the wazoo on the San Antonio roster, but it does not look like it is always sufficient.
Denver, meanwhile, has been on a tear, now sitting at 31-18. Michael Porter Jr. has been shining in his second season playing with the team, while the addition of Aaron Gordon has only improved the club, as they expected it to do. They haven’t been giving much playing time to JaVale McGee, opting instead to have JaMychal Green remain in the rotation as Jokic’s backup.
ODDS: The spread for the contest is currently sitting at Denver -6.5. The over/under is set at 223.5 points.
Spurs Seeking Return to Winning Ways
The Spurs were last on the court on Monday, playing in a game that is a fan’s worst nightmare. The Cavs had dropped five consecutive ballgames before coming in and dominating. Darius Garland’s career-high in points in a game that isn’t against San Antonio is 25. But in the two meetings this year, he poured in 29 and 37. Yikes.
Dejounte Murray being out of the lineup does hurt the defense, but there really is not an excuse. When you’ve got DeMar DeRozan and some solid guys up and down the lineup, you can win short-handed. Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poeltl always make winning plays. Derrick White can get hot any time. They do miss Murray and Lonnie Walker IV, but no excuses.
To get the win here, San Antonio needs to lock in defensively and find a way to not let Nikola Jokic dominate.
Nuggets Seeking Home Victory
At 31-18, there is no worries from the Nuggets camp that things will go well for them as the year winds on. The addition of AG helped to shore up the starting lineup, while trading Gary Harris means that Will Barton is locked in as the starting SG after being the small forward for the prior several years.
MPJ is scoring the ball effectively, and they also have Monte Morris to come in and run things on the second unit. PJ Dozier has built upon some strong performances from the Western Conference Finals, serving as a role player for the first time in the NBA regular season this year.
Hopefully, the team has Jamal Murray back tonight, and he and Jokic can run the pick and roll until it obliterates the Spurs.
Nuggets Get It Done
Sorry Spurs, but it’s not happening. They will drop below .500 with this loss, as Denver improves to 32-18.
FREE PLAY: DENVER -6.5
OVER/UNDER: OVER 223.5
