A Western Conference matchup of two of the best teams in the league takes place on Wednesday night. The Golden State Warriors travel to the mile-high city to take on the defending NBA Champion Denver Nuggets. It is time to continue our NBA odds series with a Warriors-Nuggets prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Warriors showed a glimpse of their potential with Chris Paul added to the lineup on Monday night. The Warriors secured a 120-109 victory on the backs of a combined 68-point effort by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Paul. Curry registered 34 points, while Thompson and Paul each chipped in 17. Thompson is struggling from behind the arc this season but has a career-best 2-point percentage. He is the team's second-leading scorer with 16.6 points per game. Curry is pacing the offense again, averaging 30.9 points per game in 31.8 minutes. This is the third-lowest minutes per game in the top 30 of scoring, but he has the fourth-highest scoring average. Curry's efficiency is good for two reasons. It shows he can contribute significantly if called upon to play more minutes, and as an aging superstar, he will be fresh when it comes playoff time.

The Nuggets have the league's best record at 7-1 and are riding a three-game winning streak. Jamal Murray is expected to miss significant time, but Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon have been stepping up in the Canadian's absence. Nikola Jokic has been making an early case to reclaim his MVP trophy, leading the team in points (28.4), rebounds (12.9), and assists (8.4). Jokic passed Lebron James for fourth in career-triple doubles all-time on Monday, accomplishing the feat in 813 fewer games than Lebron.

Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Warriors-Nuggets Odds

Golden State Warriors: +3.5 (-108)

Denver Nuggets: -3.5 (-112)

Over: 226.5 (-110)

Under: 226.5 (-110)

How to Watch Warriors vs. Nuggets

Time: 10 PM ET/ 7 PM PT

TV: ESPN

Stream: FuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Warriors Could Cover The Spread

The Nuggets bench has been a question mark coming into the season, as people wondered if they had the depth to repeat. The depth is being tested early with the absence of Jamal Murray due to injury. Julian Strawther had a 21-point breakout in their last game against the Pelicans, and Christian Braun is showing why the team relied on him in the rotation last season. Peyton Watson has also been a productive player in a small sample size. The issue is that a bench lineup of rookies against the veteran Warriors lineup may cause a mismatch when Jokic is off the floor.

The Warriors look to have their swagger back after a rough 2022-23 season. They haven't missed Jordan Poole, with his replacements bringing more to the table. Gary Payton II and Moses Moody have taken on a defensive role while efficiently hitting three-pointers. Curry looks like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders by having Chris Paul be his guard partner instead of Poole.

Both of these teams are top-ten in Net Rating. The Nuggets are third in the league with a +11.8 rating and have been blowing out the lower-ranked teams in the NBA. The Warriors rank only four places behind the Nuggets with a +5.3 rating. With the absence of Murray, the Nuggets rank even closer to the Warriors, so the Warriors can stay within the number.

Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread

The Warriors are coming to Denver for the final game of their four-game road trip. They went through a back-and-forth NBA In-Season Tournament game on Friday, November 3rd, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, then went to Cleveland and Detroit for a back-to-back on Sunday and Monday. The problem for the Warriors is their abundance of veterans in the lineup. How much gas will Curry, Paul, Thompson, and Green have left in the tank at the tail-end of road trips? Any regular game against a top opponent would be a problem, but a game against the defending champs in a city that isn't kind to conditioning is a cause for concern. The young legs off the bench for the Nuggets may be able to run all over the Warriors as they get into the second half.

Draymond Green is ruled out of the matchup for personal reasons, which can cause problems for the Warriors' defense. Kevon Looney and Draymond Green do well at limiting Jokic's offensive chances, but a lack of size could mean that Jokic will feast in this matchup tonight. Looney can't go up against Jokic all night, and when he does get tired, Jokic can create runs by himself to build up the lead.

Final Warriors-Nuggets Prediction & Pick

The absence of Draymond Green immediately caused the line to move in Denver's favor. It was at -3 most of the morning but has since returned to -3.5. The defense of Green and Looney may have been enough to keep this game close, but Green's absence may be too deep of a hole to crawl out of for the Warriors. They already have a tired lineup, and one less main cog in the rotation will make it difficult to recover. The young rookies on the Nuggets are trying to make a name for themselves. As most of them will be matched against Curry, Thompson, and Paul, it is the perfect opportunity to do that.

The Nuggets defense has the fourth-lowest three-point Attempt Rate Allowed. Christian Braun is turning into an elite perimeter defender and will be tasked with defending Curry. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is also an above-average defender capable of guarding the three-point line. With Green out of the lineup, there isn't much size inside, so the Warriors will rely on outside shooting. If the Nuggets continue to shut that down, it will be trouble for the Warriors. If the Warriors struggle shooting and get behind early, the Nuggets may run away with the game, easily covering the -3.5 spread.

Final Warriors-Nuggets Prediction & Pick: Nuggets -3.5 (-112)