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Basketball Expert Pick: Nuggets host Hornets

Bookmark and Share by Aaron Torres

Two bruised and battered teams will do battle in Thursday night’s NBA betting odds. That’s when the New Orleans Hornets visit the Denver Nuggets.

New Orleans Hornets (33-36 SU, 31-37-1 ATS) at Denver Nuggets (46-22 SU, 31-32-5 ATS)

Thursday, March 18: 9:30 p.m. TNT

Betting Odds: Denver -14 ½

Here are some NBA Betting Trends which may impact this game:

  • New Orleans: 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games
  • New Orleans: 1-4 SU in their last 5 games
  • Denver: 2-2-1 ATS in their last 5 games
  • Denver: 4-1 SU in their last 5 games

Denver comes into this game hot, having won four of their last five, but may have to go into the playoffs without one of their best players, forward Kenyon Martin. Martin now 32 is this team’s leading rebounder, but may be out the rest of the regular season. In his place though, several players have stepped up and are playing great basketball.

No one is more important to this Denver team than point guard Chauncey Billups, the do it all veteran and Denver native. On the season, Billups has been the glue that’s held this team together through injuries to Martin, Carmelo Anthony and others. He is averaging over 19.9 points and 5.7 assists a game, in another All-Star year. Anthony- when healthy- hasn’t been too shabby himself, as he’s averaging 28.8 points a game, good for third in the league, behind only LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

As for New Orleans, things haven’t been so easy in the Big Easy, as they’re currently at the bottom of the Southwest standings. Clearly this team has not been the same since they lost All-NBA point guard Chris Paul to a knee injury. Paul was averaging 20 points and 11 assists a game at the time of his injury, and this team has been unable to recover since. They’ve lost eight of their last 10 games, and have been abysmal against the spread during that time as well, going 1-8-1.

However, despite it, the Hornets can and will keep this game close enough to cover the NBA betting odds.

It’s no secret, that as good as Denver is, they struggle covering big numbers against perceived “weaker competition.” Look at their last few weeks: They were unable to cover the point spread against the Wizards, Rockets, Timberwolves and Pacers, all of which would not be in the playoffs if they started today.

Therefore, make the Hornets your pick. They may not be playing well, but 14 ½ points seems like an awful lot to be getting in a random Thursday night game, especially with Denver just trying to win and not risk injury to any of their players.

Take New Orleans.