Nuggets Look To Start Strong Against Young Thunder
If you have been waiting to bet on basketball then the wait is now over as the preseason slate has begun. The Denver Nuggets play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night in the preseason opener for each team.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming into this season with a young team, and they have struggled in recent seasons. Oklahoma City is not expected to make the playoffs, but it will be an important year for the franchise.
Denver comes into the 2022 season with odds of +2000 to win the NBA Championship, which gives them an outside chance of getting it done. The Nuggets have a proven core of veteran players, and they will want to get things started in the preseason.
Let’s check the latest NBA picks, stats, injury reports and NBA predictions. We’ve plenty of NBA expert picks for you to consider.
Thunder Can Be Explosive
The Oklahoma City Thunder might not be competitive throughout the 2022 season, but they have plenty of young talent on the roster. Oklahoma City has been acquiring young talent over the last few years, and they will want to score when they have the ball.
Shooting guard Josh Giddey averaged 12.5 points per game a season ago, but he could be in for a monster 2022-23 season. OKC did suffer a big blow this preseason, as it will be without top draft pick Chet Holmgren for the entire season.
Holmgren is expected to bounce back at some point, and he recently said, “It just comes down to putting my mental energy towards it, learning how to really be a professional in areas off the court.”
Jokic Set To Carry the Nuggets
Nikola Jokic signed a massive extension with the Nuggets this offseason, and he is back to lead the team. The MVP of the NBA does a bit of everything for the Nuggets, and he will have the ball in his hands a ton this season.
Injuries have plagued the Nuggets in recent seasons, and staying healthy is priority number one. Denver needs Jamal Murray to stay healthy and give the team an outside scoring threat if they want to make a deep playoff run.
The Nuggets are also one of the best defensive teams in the league, especially when playing games at Ball Arena.
Thunder vs Nuggets Head-to-Head
Any NBA betting preview has to include recent matchups in a head-to-head series, and looking back at last year’s results might be helpful in this situation.
These two teams actually split the four games played a season ago, and that shows that this could be a pretty even matchup in this one.
Thunder vs Nuggets Game Information
- Game: Thunder (0-0) vs Nuggets (0-0)
- Location: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
- Day/Time: Monday, October 3, 9:00 p.m. ET
- Live stream: NBA Game Pass
Thunder vs Nuggets Prediction
NBA betting online has become extremely popular, and you don’t have to wait until the regular season begins. It can be a bit difficult to handicap some of the preseason action, but this feels like a game that should play out as it is supposed to.
Denver comes into the 2022-23 season as one of the best teams in the Western Conference, and that isn’t the case for the Thunder. The Nuggets will be looking to make a statement on Monday night as they want to get their season started off on the right foot
