A premier Western Conference battle in the desert will take place on Friday night, as the Denver Nuggets meet up with the Phoenix Suns in a battle between two contenders. It is time to check out our NBA odds series where our Nuggets-Suns prediction and pick will be revealed.

Playing in their second game in as many nights, the Nikola Jokic-less Denver Nuggets were stomped on their home floor Thursday versus the New Orleans Pelicans 107-88, as it was the first-place team in the west that shot extremely poor throughout and could not buy a bucket down the stretch to crawl back into the game.

Nevertheless, the Nuggets still possess a three-game lead over Memphis for the one-seed at 51-25 and also happen to hold the tiebreaker over the Grizzles with just six games remaining.

As for the Suns, all eyes will once again be on Kevin Durant in this one, as the “Durantula” himself is finally back in the starting lineup after tweaking his ankle in pregame warmups a couple weeks back.

Despite a poor shooting performance that saw him go 5-18 from the field, the Suns were still able to prevail as they defeated the Timberwolves 107-100 in his first game back from the injury. As a whole, Phoenix is now 41-35 as they hold a half game lead over the LA Clippers for the four-seed in the west.

Here are the Nuggets-Suns NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NBA Odds: Nuggets-Suns Odds

Denver Nuggets: +10 (-110)

Phoenix Suns: -10 (-110)

Over: 226.5 (-110)

Under: 226.5 (-110)

How To Watch Nuggets vs. Suns

TV: NBATV

Stream: NBA League Pass

Time: 10:30 ET/7:30 PT

*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread

Not only will the Nuggets most likely be plenty fatigued in the second game of a back-to-back on Friday evening, but they also are expected to be without the services of a majority of their starting lineup for load management and rest purposes.

Last night, it happened to be Nikola Jokic missing only his ninth game with some calf tightness, and there are rumors that Michael Malone will force Jamal Murray to sit out in order to keep his knee fresh down the stretch of the regular season.

While it remains to be seen which Nuggets team will suit up for action against the Suns in the valley, one thing is for certain: the Nuggets MUST shoot the ball more efficiently to have a chance at covering the spread and possibly even winning outright as heavy underdogs.

After scoring only 88 points on Thursday in one of the worst shooting performances of the season, the belief is that it will be hard to replicate such a poor offensive effort for the second-consecutive night.

The offensive presence of Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be absolutely vital. Believe it or not, the duo combined to shoot only 6-23 from the floor including 0-11 from downtown in the loss to the Pelicans.

As a whole, Jamal Murray was the only Nugget to connect on a three-pointer on the night, as Denver shot an inexplicable 14% from beyond the arc. Without a doubt, the Nuggets could stun the Suns on their home floor, but only if they're able to start knocking down some shots.

Why The Suns Could Cover The Spread

Ever since the Phoenix Suns pulled the trigger in acquiring Kevin Durant via trade, basketball analysts and fans alike have assumed that this roster has the makings of partaking on a deep run come playoff time. Bafflingly enough, Kevin Durant has seen very limited action in a Suns jersey up to this point, as he has participated in only four games since being shipped from Brooklyn to the desert.

While it remains to be seen whether or not KD will be on a minutes restriction for this showdown with Denver, let us not forget that Durant is still one of the more dynamic scorers in the history of the game, one who can go into takeover mode at any possible moment.

While a bounce-back performance from Durant would be a sight for sore eyes, the Suns' best chance at covering the spread later tonight will be their ability to force turnovers at an absurd rate like they did in the win versus Minnesota.

After the dust had settled in that seven-point Phoenix victory, it was the Suns defense that put the clamps down defensively en route to forcing a whopping 21 turnovers.

If Denver indeed is missing a couple starters from their lineup, the chances of them getting rattled on the road will only increase, especially since the Nuggets are prone to turn the ball over from time to time. Offensively, the Suns should be just fine, as it will be up to the defense to not allow the Nuggets to revert to old ways by shooting lights out.

Final Nuggets-Suns Prediction & Pick

On paper, it appears that the Nuggets will be without some serious firepower for them to cover the spread- and the Suns will be too much to overcome for Denver to have a chance in this one.

Final Nuggets-Suns Prediction & Pick: Suns -10 (-110)