The Denver Nuggets will be playing inside of the Chase Center in Game 2 of the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. Point guard Stephen Curry made his return to the team for the first time in exactly a month after suffering a foot sprain. The Warriors are attempting to step up and win to improve to 2-0 in the playoffs in a best of seven series.
Last Games Records
These teams played four times during the regular season, and the Nuggets were able to win three of the four games. These teams played on Saturday in Game 1, and the Golden State Warriors picked up a 123-107 home win, with shooting guard Jordan Poole scoring 30 points in the victory. That’s some of the best betting stats NBA so far in the postseason.
Matchup Information
Nuggets at Warriors Betting Analysis
Denver Nuggets Betting Analysis
The Denver Nuggets have been depending on possible NBA MVP center Nikola Jokic as he has been absolutely dominant this season. In the four games against the Warriors during the regular season, he averaged 28 points, 15.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 1.5 steals in 34 minutes per game.
The biggest issue is the fact that Golden State can game plan specifically to stop Jokic from being a huge force. In Game 1, he finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, one block, and three steals. He needs to improve if he wants to be able to help Denver split the first two games of this playoff series.
Golden State Warriors Betting Analysis
The Golden State Warriors have been playing well as they are one of the top teams and have a very even attack. Five players were able to score at least 12 points in the game and point guard Stephen Curry played decently well for his first game in a month. He came off the bench and played 22 minutes while finishing with 16 points, three rebounds, four assists, and a steal in Game 1 of the series.
Curry has played extremely well in his three regular-season games against the Nuggets as he is scoring 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 0.7 steals per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three, and 94.4 percent from the free-throw line. This team has a balanced attack and needs to continue stepping up if they want to go up 2-0 in the series.
Updates
Small forward Michael Porter Jr has been out since November 6 with a back injury and is hopeful to play at some point throughout this series as he said, “Right now, I’m taking it game by game. I’m not ruling anything out. This is a thing I don’t ever want to deal with again, so I’m just taking my time.” He is expected to miss Game 2. For Golden State, they are essentially at full strength, with Stephen Curry returning during Game 1.
Nuggets at Warriors Betting Preview
Looking at the main sportsbook, the Golden State Warriors are favored by seven points in this game. The moneyline has the Nuggets listed at +240 while the Warriors are favored at -295. The total points are listed at 224, with the over and under both being -110 in this game. Those are the Game 2 NBA Betting Picks.
Nuggets at Warriors Betting Prediction
The Denver Nuggets are a good team, but the postseason is a different beast. Nikola Jokic is a solid player, but Denver does not have the ability to score points outside of Jokic. Golden State has a balanced offensive attack, especially with Stephen Curry getting his feet back under him, and should be able to play at least 25 minutes in Game 2.
Golden State has way too many scoring options for Denver to be ready to defend them. The major difference will be on the defensive side of the court, as the Warriors finished third in the NBA with 105.5 points per game during the regular season while the Nuggets are 14th in the NBA with 110.4 points per game allowed.
Without Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray on the floor, this series will be lucky to go five games as they are expecting Jokic to do everything, while Golden State should be able to limit his looks and make him be a facilitator and force his teammates to score. All in all, go with the Golden State Warriors to win by double-digits in this game.
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