Both teams are feeling the effects of the COVID schedule. The Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets met on Monday in a rescheduled affair won by the Nuggets 131-124. The Dubs played with a trimmed down roster that left Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins on the bench to get some rest in the first game of a back-to-back. Those players are expected to be back in the lineup when the clubs meet again in the Mile High City on Thursday. Denver won the first three games of the season series with 11 points separating the teams. Denver is 2-1 ATS in those games.
Thursday’s game between the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets will air live on TNT with tip off at 10 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver, CO. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
Nobody said life is fair and the Warriors will have to deal with a weird situation thanks to Monday’s rescheduled tilt. After hosting the Clippers on Wednesday, the Dubs head right back to Denver to deal with the altitude. Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war and that’s what happened on Monday. Steve Kerr rested his top three scorers while still having Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala on the injured list. They dropped their fifth straight game, though they did get their first payout in five contests. It’s been a tough few weeks with the Dubs going 1-7 SU in their last eight games while going just 2-9 ATS in their past 11.
Monday’s win was Denver’s 11th in 13 games moving them closer to a top-4 spot in the Western Conference. The Nuggets moved 1.5 games behind Utah and trail the Warriors by only 4.0 games for the third spot. Though they failed to cover the 8-point spread in Monday’s victory, the Nuggets have treated their backers well during their current run going 9-4 ATS. With Nikola Jokic getting consecutive triple-doubles, the Nuggets scored more than 130 points in both outings cashing the OVER both times. Denver won the previous three meetings with the Dubs going over the total in the last two, and the Nuggets are 4-2 SU and 3-3 ATS in their last six home games against the Warriors.
Golden State Warriors
Kerr announced over the weekend that Curry, Thompson and Wiggins wouldn’t play in Monday’s game. Oddsmakers made the adjustments giving the Dubs 8-points on the closing line. That will look different on Thursday with Golden State having close to a full roster. They are still without Green and the defense has disappeared because of it. Not that Green is the sole reason for the Warriors’ troubles, but losing a tenacious defender hasn’t helped.
The Warriors allowed more than 120 points in their last four losses with opponents averaging 126.5 points. Golden State had the most efficient defense for most of the season and still ranks among the top-5 in points allowed and defending from the field. They cashed the OVER in all four games and in eight of their past 10. And they’ve struggled on the road going 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS in their past seven tilts away from home.
Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic might be playing better than he did during his MVP season. The big guy had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in Monday’s win for his second straight triple-double and his 11th in the last 23 games. In the previous game Jokic tallied 46 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against New Orleans. And defending active big men has been an issue for Golden State which is why Jokic gets plenty of touches. Jokic scored 22 points in the first meeting with the Dubs and tallied 35 points with 17 boards a few weeks ago to help Denver overcome a double-digit deficit.
The Nuggets have some scheduling issues of their own thanks to Monday’s rescheduled affair. This will be their fourth game in five nights and the second time facing the Warriors in the second game of a back-to-back. They are travelling from northern California as well after tangling with Sacramento on Wednesday. Of course when you’re winning things like that don’t have as big of an impact.
Warriors at Nuggets NBA Odds Pick
It is a unique situation thanks to the rescheduled game. Both teams are playing a lot of basketball in a short period of time and will be traveling on the same day. It’s hard to say anyone has an advantage because of it, but the Nuggets are used to playing at elevation. We will see a different Golden State team than we did on Monday with Curry, Thompson and Wiggins expected to play. Without them the Dubs still scored 124 points. They don’t have an answer for Jokic, though, and the reigning MVP has large numbers against the Dubs – and everyone else for that matter.
NBA Odds Prediction: Denver Nuggets / OVER
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