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The NBA continues on Friday night as the trade deadline is officially in the rearview mirror. The Boston Celtics host the Denver Nuggets after making some trades yesterday. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Nuggets-Celtics prediction and pick.
The Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics are both heading in the same direction right now. After starting the season mediocre, both teams have gone on winning streaks to put them in a position to contend in each conference. Denver is (30-24) and sixth in the West and Boston is (31-25) and seventh in the East. This should make for a great interconference battle!
Here are the Nuggets-Celtics NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Nuggets-Celtics Odds
Denver Nuggets: +6 (-110)
Boston Celtics: -6 (-110)
Over: 219 (-110)
Under: 219 (-110)
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Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread
The Nuggets are coming into this game after defeating the New York Knicks rather easily last time out. Bones Hyland led the team with 22 points off the bench and Nikola Jokic finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. With the rising play of Hyland and the veteran leaders on this team, the Nuggets have the ability to make a strong push in the West. Besides Jokic and Aaron Gordon, there isn't anyone else who really threatens any team. Especially the Celtics, who own the toughest defense in the NBA right now. Boston is holding opponents to just 94.2 points per game over their last 10. Boston is fourth in the NBA in allowing 103 points per game on the season, behind the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
If the Nuggets want to cover this spread against the Celtics, they must not let the Celtics defense beat them. It's very hard to get into a rhythm against the C's as they have multiple defensive-minded players on their roster like Marcus Smart, Rob Williams III, and now the new addition of Derrick White. On the defensive end for Denver, they must try and contain Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are both averaging north of 23 points per game this season.
Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread
As mentioned above, the Celtics can win this game and cover the spread with their defense. The roster no longer contains Dennis Schroder and Josh Richardson, so they lost some depth. But they brought back Daniel Theis to help with the frontcourt depth. Theis played for the Celtics from 2017-21 until traded to the Chicago Bulls last season. He now returns to the C's after playing for the Rockets all season long. Theis is a German native who can spread the floor and shoot if needed. His strength is his defense as he is a length 6-foot-9 but plays bigger. Theis averaged 8.4 points, five rebounds, and 0.7 blocks on the season in just 22 minutes per game. Theis did average 1.3 blocks per game in 2019 for the Celtics. His presence will be much-needed for Boston going down the stretch.
Boston will need to defend Jokic and Gordon as best they can. They can't let Hyland and Will Barton contribute much either or else the Nuggets will threaten their spread. Boston is 18-10 at home this season and the Nuggets are 15-14 on the road. Denver is also 15-5 when winning the turnover margin so the C's must not turn the ball over much.
Final Nuggets-Celtics Prediction & Pick
Neither squad is good against the spread this season so past matchups aren't going to predict this outcome. Take the Celtics to cover this spread at home because they have been playing very well over the last two weeks.
Final Nuggets-Celtics Prediction & Pick: Celtics -6 (-110)
