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The Portland Trail Blazers head to Colorado to play against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Blazers-Nuggets prediction and pick.
The Trail Blazers have been a solid team this season as they ended with a 42-30 record, going 38-34 against the spread. Portland enters the postseason with a healthy roster and looks to take advantage of the Nuggets on Saturday.
The Nuggets showed out all year and wound up as the third seed in the Western Conference. They went 47-25 on the year and 34-38 against the spread. Nikola Jokic is a serious MVP candidate and hopes to continue his high level of play in the first round.
Here's how sportsbooks have set the Blazers-Nuggets odds.
NBA Playoffs Odds: Blazers-Nuggets
Portland Trail Blazers +1.5 (-110)
Denver Nuggets -1.5 (-110)
Over 226.5 (-110)
Under 226.5 (-110)
Why the Blazers Could Cover the Spread
The Portland Trail Blazers have one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Damian Lillard is a superstar point guard and he has CJ McCollum to compliment him as well. The front office traded for Norman Powell who turned out to be a phenomenal addition to this roster. Portland aims to upset the Nuggets in the first round, as this squad is much better than their seeding suggests.
Jamal Murray has been ruled out for the season, which bodes well for Portland's chances. The Nuggets don't have any perimeter defenders to slow down Lillard, McCollum, or Powell and the Trail Blazers will surely take advantage.
Portland has also been one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league this year, as they finished second in total three-pointers made (1132). The Trail Blazers backcourt could prove to be too much to handle and they could upset the Nuggets in game one and the series.
Why the Nuggets Could Cover the Spread
Nikola Jokic has been a nightmare for opposing teams this season. Averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.3 rebounds, he's a center that literally does it all. He's played like a point guard since Murray's departure which has kept the Nuggets competitive. For Denver to at least cover the spread, Jokic will have to be on top of his game on Saturday night.
Even with Murray out, the Nuggets have a fantastic scoring option in Michael Porter Jr. He's in line to possibly win the Most Improved Player Award this season as he's averaged 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and .542 shooting from the field, all of which are career highs. It's been a great turnaround since his back injury that kept him sidelined his rookie year in 2018-19, but Porter Jr. is shaping up to be a dominant scorer.
The Nuggets' best chances of winning and/or covering the spread are to lean on Jokic and Porter Jr. due to their lack of perimeter defense, Denver will have to try and outpace Portland, which is much easier said than done.
Final Blazers-Nuggets Prediction and Pick
At the end of the day, these two organizations match up well against each other. The Blazers' strengths are the Nuggets' weaknesses and vice versa. This will be a hard-fought series that could go all seven games. For game one though, look for Portland to come out swinging to steal a win on the road, as Denver might not be ready for the Blazers backcourt attack.
FINAL BLAZERS-NUGGETS PREDICTION/PICK: Trail Blazers win 115-113
