The Portland Trail Blazers take on the Denver Nuggets. Check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Trail Blazers Nuggets prediction and pick.

The Denver Nuggets have not achieved everything they wanted to achieve in the first third of the 82-game NBA season. The 28-game mark on an NBA schedule means that a team has passed the one-third mile post. The Nuggets have played 30 games, and they have not been able to achieve a few important, specific goals.

The Nuggets had hoped to get Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., their two oft-injured stars, back to full speed and full rhythm. They are batting 0 for 2. Murray doesn't look right just yet — he's not back to his normal pre-injury self — and Porter suffered a heel injury which has kept him out of the lineup for a few weeks. Notably, Porter might be able to play in this game after his multi-week absence, but the Nuggets have a very long road to travel in terms of getting their second- and third-best players back to full strength in time for the playoffs. At 19-11, the Nuggets don't have a bad record, but without Murray and Porter becoming the players they once were before their injuries, everyone knows this team won't be able to ascend in the Western Conference and make a serious run at the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance. It will be interesting to see if Porter can give them meaningful minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Here are the Trail Blazers-Nuggets NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel:

NBA Odds: Trail Blazers-Nuggets Odds

Portland Trail Blazers: +4.5 (-106)

Denver Nuggets: -4.5 (-114)

Over: 232.5 (-110)

Under: 232.5 (-110)

Why The Trail Blazers Could Cover The Spread

These teams met earlier in December in Portland. The Nuggets did win, but they won by a single point, and they needed to outscore Portland by 11 points (32-21) in the fourth quarter in order to win. Portland outplayed Denver for a good portion of that contest, so it's entirely reasonable to think the Blazers can do so again.

Another point which needs to be made is that in the NBA, the long — almost endless — season means that teams will go through down cycles. We're seeing that right now with the Boston Celtics, who have spent the past week and a half looking like a G League team which has completely forgotten how to play basketball. The Phoenix Suns have also endured a horrible month of December. Slumps happen. Nearly every team in every season will go through one or two. The Blazers are in the midst of one, having just lost two straight games to the Thunder in Oklahoma City. The thing about slumps is that they — like winning streaks — come to an end. This is a good time for the Blazers to bust out of a slump. Michael Porter returning for the Nuggets might seem like good news for Denver, but he is likely to be rusty after several weeks of recuperation. The Blazers are in a good spot here.

Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread

The argument for a Denver cover is not complicated: The Nuggets are playing far better than the Blazers right now. Denver has won five of its last six, while the Blazers lost twice to Oklahoma City. The Nuggets usually win with their offense, but they played one of their best defensive games of the year earlier this week when they absolutely throttled the Memphis Grizzlies' offense in a 105-91 win. If the Nuggets score 105 points in a game, the odds are very high that they will lose, given their pronounced defensive struggles this season. Against the Grizzlies, they scored 105 and won by 14. It's the kind of game coach Mike Malone wants to see a lot more of from his team, which has to become tougher if it wants a real shot at a Western Conference championship and a historic first trip to the NBA Finals.

In the previous Nugget-Blazer meeting referred to above, it should be noted that Damian Lillard scored 40 points and Portland still couldn't beat Denver. One shouldn't expect Dame to score 40 again. If he scores only 30, Portland will have to find more points from other sources. That's not likely.

Final Trail Blazers-Nuggets Prediction & Pick

Michael Porter will be rusty. Portland will be motivated. The Blazers will cover.

Final Trail Blazers-Nuggets Prediction & Pick: Trail Blazers +4.5