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The Denver Nuggets will take on the Utah Jazz in a battle of 2020 playoff teams. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Nuggets-Jazz prediction and pick.
It's very early in the season, but the Jazz have looked like themselves in the early going. Utah is 2-0 as they enter this games, with wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Sacramento Kings. This game is the first real test of the year for the Jazz, so it will be interesting to see how they play against the Nuggets. Denver is 1-1 on the year after a shocking loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. This is the second leg of a back-to-back for the Nuggets, and it's a game against the best team that they have faced so far. This should be an entertaining matchup, so let's get into the pick.
Here's how the bookmakers have set the Nuggets-Jazz odds for Tuesday night's game.
NBA Odds: Nuggets-Jazz Odds
Denver Nuggets +7 1/2 (-110)
Utah Jazz -7 1/2 (-110)
Over 219 points (-108)
Under 219 points (-112)
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Why The Nuggets Can Cover The Spread
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Despite their disappointing defeat against the Cavaliers, the Nuggets remain one of the best teams in the Western conference. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic leads a strong starting five, and the bench is filled with contributors. The defense has been especially strong, as the Nuggets haven't allowed more than 100 points in either of their two games. The last time these two teams dueled, Denver staged an insane playoff comeback off of the strength of their defense. Expect the Nuggets to lean on their stellar defensive ability again in this game.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert is undeniably one of the best defensive centers in the NBA, but Jokic seems to have figured him out. The Joker lit up Gobert all throughout last season's playoff series, scoring less than 20 points in only one game out of seven. Jokic has shown himself to be the centerpiece of this offense now that point guard Jamal Murray is out with an injury, and there's a good chance that he continues his offensive dominance in this matchup.
Why The Jazz Can Cover The Spread
The aforementioned Jamal Murray injury has dealt a huge blow to the Denver offense. The Nuggets haven't scored 200 points on the season, and they haven't played a good team yet. The Cavaliers should be one of the worst squads in basketball, yet the Nuggets only managed to score 87 points on them. Nikola Jokic is the only Denver player to surpass 20 points in either game this year, so it's obvious just how one-dimensional this offense really is. If Utah can force the ball out of Jokic's hands with a variety of double teams and different looks, the Nuggets will have real trouble putting up points.
Utah isn't one of the most potent offensive units in the league, but they've been getting the job done through two games. They've hit triple digits in both contests, and their scoring has been fairly evenly distributed. Star guard Donovan Mitchell is of course leading his team in that category, but head coach Quinn Snyder has seen significant contributions from Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert on the offensive end. This scoring attack is a far more balanced attack than Denver's, something that should show on Tuesday night.
Final Nuggets-Jazz Prediction & Pick
It's always hard to make picks this early in the season, but the Jazz have to be the choice here. Denver has been too inconsistent and too shaky on offense to warrant any confidence here.
FINAL PICK: Utah Jazz -7 1/2 (-110)
