Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets Predictions, Picks, Odds

Nationally televised NBA coverage will conclude on Thursday night with a compelling first-round Western Conference playoff rematch between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets. Coverage begins from Ball Arena at 10:00 p.m. ET on TNT.

SCORE PREDICTION

Blazers 110, Nuggets 107

BEST BETS

Trail Blazers +8 (-110) at WynnBet

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS PREDICTIONS

After finishing sixth in the West with a record of 42-30 SU last year, Portland posted a similarly strong start to this season, as the Blazers opened with a sturdy 10-8 SU and 8-9-1 ATS run – despite getting tagged as favorites in just 14 of those affairs.

Portland has been ravaged by health issues since early December though, considering the Blazers are just 6-16 SU and 7-15 ATS across the last 22 games, with 11 of those losses coming without CJ McCollum – and six coming without Damian Lillard.

On the other hand, Denver barreled out to an excellent start to the season, as the Nuggets kicked things off with a solid 9-4 SU and 7-6 ATS run – which included impressive upset victories over the Suns, Jazz, Grizzlies, and Heat.

The Nuggets have looked like a shell of that squad since their opening stretch though, considering Denver is just 11-15 SU and 9-17 ATS across the last 26 games – with ten of those SU losses coming by a double-digit margin.

I’ll take the points with Portland here, as despite the absences of Lillard and McCollum, the Blazers have played somewhat inspired basketball recently, sitting at 3-2 SU and averaging 112.6 PPG across the last five games – while the Nuggets’ offense has been incredibly inconsistent as of late, having scored 100 PTS or less in five of their last ten contests (102 PPG).

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING ODDS

More Odds | Futures Odds

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING RESOURCES

  • Matchup: Northwest
  • Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
  • Venue: Ball Arena
  • Location: Denver, Colorado
  • TV-Time: TNT - 10:00 p.m. ET
  • Injury Report

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 16-24
  • ATS: 15-25
  • O/U: 19-21

After finishing sixth in the West with a record of 42-30 SU last year, Portland stumbled out to a frustrating start to this season, as the Blazers opened with a lackluster 13-22 SU skid – despite getting tagged as favorites in 23 of those contests.

Lillard recently joined McCollum on the sidelines for his team’s latest five-game stretch, but the Blazers’ supporting cast clearly isn’t fooling around during the absence of its superstar duo, considering Portland is 3-2 SU across the last five games – which includes tough upset victories over the Hawks, Kings, and Nets.

DENVER NUGGETS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 20-19
  • ATS: 16-23
  • O/U: 19-20

Despite the year-long absence of Jamal Murray, Denver managed to stay afloat through the first half of the season, as the Nuggets currently hover at 6th place in the West with a record of 20-19 SU – pacing the Clippers, Lakers, and Timberwolves all by one game or less.

Denver always wields the ability to keep things competitive with a healthy Nikola Jokic leading the charge, but clearly, we should expect far less when additional pieces are absent such as Michael Porter Jr., Will Barton, and P.J. Dozier – highlighted by the Nuggets averaging just 102 PPG across their latest 5-5 SU and 3-7 ATS skid.

The Blazers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven matchups against Denver. (AP)

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Nuggets and Blazers met up in the first round of last year’s Western Conference playoffs, which resulted in a relatively comfortable six-game series victory for Denver, as three of those victories came by 11+ PTS.

Portland and Denver split their first two matchups of this season though, which were played at almost nearly identical paces, considering these teams combined for precisely 219 PTS in both affairs (124-95, 119-100).

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

  • POR: Anfernee Simons - SG (14.1 PPG, 2.7 REB, 2.9 AST)
  • POR: Jusuf Nurkic - PF (13.5 PPG, 10.2 REB, 2.6 AST)
  • DEN: Nikola Jokic - C (25.7 PPG, 14.1 REB, 7 AST)
  • DEN: Aaron Gordon - PF (14.3 PPG, 5.6 REB, 2.1 AST)

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING CONCLUSION

After posting back-to-back home victories over the Kings and Nets, the Blazers hit the road in Thursday’s matchup as narrow underdogs against the Nuggets at Ball Arena – marking the eighth straight game Portland has been an underdog in.

I’ll take the points with Portland here, as the Nuggets just haven’t shot the ball well recently, currently averaging 102 PPG across their latest 3-7 ATS skid – while the Blazers seemingly want to make a statement during the combined absence of Lillard and McCollum, currently averaging 112.6 PPG across their latest 3-2 SU stretch.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING TRENDS

  • The Blazers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven matchups against Denver.
  • The total has gone OVER in eight of the last nine matchups between Portland and Denver.
  • The Blazers are 6-12 ATS in their last 18 games.
  • The Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last five games.