Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers betting tips and predictions for Thursday’s NBA game on TNT. LA looks to end a 3-game losing streak as they head to Denver for a date with the Nuggets. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Denver Nuggets
After beating two quality Eastern Conference opponents in Miami and Boston, the Nuggets weren’t able to connect 3 wins in a row as they fell on the road in Minnesota. It was a 2nd night of a back-to-back, so maybe fatigue kicked in a bit because we don’t see them lose to teams that are on long losing streaks often. Tonight is a good opportunity to redeem themselves in front of the home fans where they are 14-3 SU this season. They’ve already beaten the Clippers 114-104 on the road back in late November, led by Aaron Gordon who had 29 points in that game. It will be a slightly different game tonight though with the Clippers having Kawhi Leonard at their disposal. Denver has a 8-game win streak at Ball Arena right now, they are also 14-6 SU in their last 20 vs Western Conference opponents.
Los Angeles Clippers
The major talking point around the Clippers right now is the health of Paul George who suffered a hamstring injury in the game against Miami. He left the game towards the end of the 3rd quarter, it’s unclear how long he will be out, but he is definitely lost for the Nuggets game tonight. Joining him on the sidelines will be Nicolas Batum who has been out for a while now, so there could be some depth issues for the Clippers here. In their last 7 games vs Denver they are just 1-6 SU, if we expand that to the last 20 they are only 7-13 ATS. Despite all the negativity surrounding the team, the Clippers are still 6th in the West and have covered the spread 11 of 20 games played.
With PG13 out and us not knowing in what kind of shape Kawhi Leonard will be here, I think it’s best to back the home team. They’ve owned the head-to-head match-up with LA for a while now, especially in home games, so I think Jokic and co. can win by at least 5 points here without issues.
Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers Predictions & Odds
Backing the over has been a must in Clippers games this season, they are 13-7 on the O/U with the over landing in 11 of their last 12 games away from home. They did put up just 100 points in the loss to Miami, but prior to that in their last 4 games they were able to score 130, 110, 124 and 142 points which mean they are in a solid rhythm offensively. The Nuggets are one of the most productive teams offensively in the entire NBA, they rank 3rd in offensive efficiency scoring 114.9 points per 100 possessions.
Nikola Jokic continues to dazzle all of us watching, he has averaged 28.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game over his last 10 outings. As much as I like Ivica Zubac and what he brings to the table for the Clippers on the inside, he is no match for the 2-time MVP here. I expect Jokic to dominate and this game to finish in the high 220s. Back the over.
