Slumping Squads Do Battle in Denver
Nets, Nuggets Combined Have Dropped 10 Straight
The Brooklyn Nets try to avoid an eighth straight loss when they face the equally cold Denver Nuggets on Sunday. The opening tip for this contest is scheduled for 3:30 pm ET at Ball Arena in Denver.
The Nets are coming off a 23-point loss to the host Utah Jazz on Friday night, their fifth straight road loss. Brooklyn is 29-23 and in second place in the Atlantic Division, trailing the Philadelphia 76ers by two games and leading the third-place Toronto Raptors by a half-game.
Denver has been in a slump of late as well, losing at home to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in its last game. The Nuggets are second in the Northwest Division, 3½ games behind the first-place Utah Jazz and a game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
If you want to bet online on this contest, the NBA lines have the Nuggets as 5½-point favorites at home, with the over/under set at 229½.
Rough Road
This would be a hard trip for the Nets even if they were fully healthy, which they are not. The loss to the Jazz came with James Harden, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Joe Harris all sidelined with injuries, taking their double-digit scoring averages with them.
“We’re going through a tough stretch,” Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said after Friday’s loss. “We’re undermanned, and we’re asking guys to do more. We played against an excellent offensive team. I just keep telling the guys that it’s about staying together through this.”
Harden is considered questionable with a hamstring issue. Brooklyn could definitely use him, as he’s averaging 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game, ranking second in the league in the last category.
With Harden and Durant out, Kyrie Irving is the lone star of the team’s Big Three available. He’s doing his best, but teams are able to focus more on him, especially with so many scoring threats sidelined. Irving is averaging 22.8 points and 4.8 assists in the 11 games he’s played this season, but he managed just 14 and 15 points in the Nets’ last two games.
Rookie guard Cam Thomas has taken advantage of some more playing time and is coming off a career-best 30-point performance against the Jazz. The 20-year-old out of LSU had 25 points against Denver on Jan. 26, so he’s hoping to have that same kind of impact in this one.
One-Man Show
The reigning NBA MVP, Nikola Jokic, is playing like an MVP yet again, but his team is having trouble keeping pace with him and putting together some wins. The Nuggets are dealing with some injury troubles of their own, with Aaron Gordon missing Friday’s loss and the team still waiting on Jamal Murray to make his first appearance of the season after a knee injury at the end of 2020-21.
Jokic has been fantastic, though, ranking in the league’s top 10 in scoring (25.9 points, seventh), rebounding (13.7, second), and assists (7.8, eighth). He’s also averaging 1.4 steals per game and hitting 38.5% from 3-point range.
Will Barton is the Nuggets’ second-leading scorer with 15.3 points per game. He’s also contributing 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists, though he’s not the dynamic scorer that Murray is.
Gordon has been solid when he’s been able to play, averaging 14.5 points and 5.6 rebounds. In his first full season with Denver, he’s looking much more comfortable in the team’s offense.
Nuggets Earn Win
If Harden is able to play, this game will be a bit closer, but we still like the Nuggets to win at home. Brooklyn is struggling to get a win right now due to all of its injuries, and that will continue on Sunday.
When doing your NBA betting, take Denver to win and cover at home.
