The Golden State Warriors round out their three-game road trip with a visit to Ball Arena for a matchup against the Denver Nuggets. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Warriors-Nuggets prediction and pick for the Monday night clash.

Click here for our Risk Free $1000 Bet!

*To claim, new users need to register, make a first deposit, and then simply place their first real-money wager on FanDuel Sportsbook up to $1000! If a user loses their first wager, we’ll refund their losses in the form of a free bet up to $1000!*

The Warriors come into this game in one of their worst slumps of the season, having lost each of their past four games. The defense surrendered 124 points to the Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend, including 56 from LeBron James. They will be without some of their best players against the Nuggets, however, as Steve Kerr revealed he won't be sending Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, or Andrew Wiggins to Denver. Thus, the team will look to the likes of Jonathan Kuminga and Jordan Poole to lead the charge on Monday night.

Denver enters play coming off a sensational victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, during which Nikola Jokic recorded a jaw-dropping 46-point triple-double, during which he scored 30 points between the fourth quarter and overtime. He out-dueled Brandon Ingram and led his team to victory, and he'll look to be the X-factor again on Monday when the Warriors come to town. Jokic could be in line for another huge game against Golden State, who have not defended well against scoring big men.

Both of these teams expect to be in the playoffs this year, and this could very well be a preview of a potential first-round matchup out of the Western Conference. With that in mind, here are our predictions and picks for the game.

Here are the Warriors-Nuggets NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Warriors-Nuggets Odds

Golden State Warriors: +8.5 (-110)

Denver Nuggets: -8.5 (-110)

Over: 221 (-110)

Under: 221 (-110)

 

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

Why The Warriors Could Cover The Spread

Despite being without some of their best players, the Warriors still have the firepower to keep up with the Nuggets. Jordan Poole is more than capable of popping off for a huge night, and could single-handedly help the Warriors match Denver's pace. With Poole getting the green light to fire from all over the court, he should be able to keep the Warriors competitive, even if Jokic goes off for a huge performance. It seems unlikely the Warriors managed to squeeze out a win in this one, but covering the spread at +8.5 is certainly achievable.

Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic is playing some of the best basketball we've seen from him all season long. After his dominant performance on Sunday night, during which he scored 46 points and recorded a triple-double, the center will be hungry for more and has an excellent matchup against Golden State. Additionally, with the Warriors' four best players unavailable for this one, including Draymond Green, Jokic and his castmembers shouldn't face too many matchup issues offensively, and won't have to worry about the likes of Curry and Thompson dialing down from 3-point range. If Jokic is at his best, there's no reason the Nuggets don't easily cover the 8.5-point spread against a shallow Warriors team.

Final Warriors-Nuggets Prediction and Pick

With all three of the Warriors' top offensive options sidelined for this one, it's hard to envision them keeping up with the Nuggets, who will be near full strength. Nikola Jokic has been playing on another level of late, and that should continue Monday night, so we're backing the Nuggets to earn a comfortable victory over the Warriors.

Final Warriors-Nuggets Pick: Nuggets -8.5 (-110)