NBA: Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Denver Nuggets host the NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors, this Thursday night at the Ball Arena in Colorado. The Nuggets are the top team in the West for the moment, while the Warriors want to reach that sixth place in the conference and a direct spot in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see two two-time NBA MVPs: Nikola Jokic and Steph Curry. But also to see the Warriors, who are slightly improving their form in the recent few days. They lost to the T-wolves last night in Minnesota and now have an even more complex challenge.

Preview

Golden State Warriors (26-25, +400) lost in Minneapolis last night, after overtime against the Timberwolves, 119-114. Now, many would think something wrong here, but do know that until this event, the Warriors won four in five games and that the T-Wolves are on the rise, so this defeat shouldn’t be taken so tragically.

Steve Kerr and his boys are better now than one month ago, and last night’s defeat simply happened. The Warriors scored only four points in the overtime, while D’Angelo Russell delivered 14 buckets in the final period, having a sort of revenge over his former team.

The positive thing for the Warriors is that they had 58 boards, with Draymond posting 12, the team-high. Steph Curry scored 29 points and had 10 boards, while Jordan Poole ended the night with 18. Klay scored 14, while Wiggins added 16.

Denver Nuggets (35-16, -500) came back home following a three-game road trip with a win over New Orleans Pelicans, 122-113. The Nuggets needed this following back-to-back losses in Milwaukee and in Philly.

Jokic had another triple-double with 26 buckets, 18 boards and 15 assists, and he now officially averages a triple-double per game. He was 10-for-14 from the field, by the way. What was more important than this are Jamal Murray’s 32 buckets, with the Canadian guard dropping seven threes, six assists, and five boards. His contribution in the remainder of the year is of the utmost importance for Denver.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon each scored 15 points, but they did one hell of a job on the defensive side, doing all the dirty work for their team.

Head to Head Games

The Nuggets were better than the Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco, 128-123. Jokic had a triple-double 26 points, 12 boards, and 10 dimes, while Bruce Brown had 20 points. KCP scored 17, and Bones Hyland 14. Steph dropped 34 for the hosts, Wiggins 23, and Klay 16. It was a game in which the Warriors made a late push following a massive minus but ran out of juice for a complete comeback. 

Prediction

The Nuggets are the favorites, and we think that they are going to come out as winners here. The first reason is the fantastic home-court record because Jokic and the boys have just one defeat at the Ball Arena in the past 18 events. Also, Steve Kerr might rest some of his players after an exhausting night in Minneapolis. Even though GSW has to chase the playoff spot and wins, Denver is not the place for that. The odds on the Nuggets’ win are -500. 

Pick: Nuggets -500