The Denver Nuggets host the Dallas Mavericks for a big-time Western Conference matchup in the Mile High City. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Mavericks-Nuggets prediction and pick.
The Mavs are coming off a nail-biting loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Phoenix, led by Kevin Durant's 26 points, held on for the 114-113 win. Jusuf Nurkic hit the game-winning free-throw with 0.8 seconds left and the Mavs were stunned at home. Dallas fell to 5-4 on the year and have lost two of their last three games. They now travel to one of the toughest environments to play at which is in Denver.
The Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 135-122 in a very high-scoring affair. The Nuggets tend to now allow opponents to have that kind of offensive night at home, however, over their last three home games, the Nuggets have allowed 119+ in all of them. Despite that, Nikola Jokic and his squad have won all those games and are now 6-3 on the season. Denver is currently the 5-seed in the West but it's expected they will finish with a top-4 record by the end of the year.
Here are the Mavericks-Nuggets NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Mavericks-Nuggets Odds
Dallas Mavericks: +5.5 (-112)
Moneyline: +188
Denver Nuggets: -5.5 (-108)
Moneyline: -225
Over: 230.5 (-110)
Under: 230.5 (-110)
How To Watch Mavericks vs. Nuggets
Time: 8:00 ET/5:00 PT
TV: Altitude Sports, KFAA
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why the Mavericks Could Cover the Spread/Win
Luka Doncic is currently questionable for this game with a strained left groin. He could very well miss this contest in the Mile High City. Dante Exam is already out, but Dereck Lively Jr. and P.J. Washington are both doubtful. The Mavs will rely on Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson to lead this team against a good Nuggets squad.
Irving is playing very well to begin the year and Klay is having a good start with his brand-new team. Kyrie is up to 23.7 points per game and is shooting the ball at a high rate of 50.6%. Klay hasn't lit up the scoreboards yet but is averaging 14.1 points per game so far. The Mavericks will need Klay to score at least 20+ points if they want to cover the spread.
If Luka plays, then the Mavericks will keep this close all the way. They are never out of a game when he is playing healthy. The issue is that Luka has been playing hurt a lot lately.
Why the Nuggets Could Cover the Spread/Win
Aaron Gordon and DaRon Holmes II are the only players out for the Nuggets.
Against the Heat, Jokic recorded yet another triple-double. The 3-time MVP can do anything wrong it seems and nobody can find a way to stop him. On the year, he's 5th in the NBA in scoring at 28.9 points per game and leads the league in rebounds and assists. He is on pace for yet another MVP nominee and if the Nuggets are a top-2 seed, he will likely win it. Expect him to show up once again and put up triple-double numbers.
The addition of Russell Westbrook has been great for Denver. He is playing high-level basketball, as always, and recorded 10 assists against the Heat off the bench. As long as he takes care of the ball and does not turn it over, then Russ will be a huge factor for the Nuggets this year. He's averaging 11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
Final Mavericks-Nuggets Prediction & Pick
I will be taking the Nuggets to cover this spread at home whether Luka Doncic plays or not.
Final Mavericks-Nuggets Prediction & Pick: Nuggets -5.5 (-108)
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