After back-to-back-losses in Games 2 and 3, the Denver Nuggets got their turn to win in consecutive fashion in this second-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Now, the Nuggets have a shot of closing out the series this coming Thursday on the road. There’s always Damian Lillard to spoil that goal, but will he? Going into the game, the sportsbook favors the home team by 4-points while NBA playoff series’ odds price Denver at -400 to win the series, while Portland is priced at +300 to make it through the round. Read on for a preview of Game 6.
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Betting Preview for Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers NBA Playoffs Round 2 Game 6 on May 9, 2019
Where: MODA Center, Portland
When: Thursday, May 9, 2019, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Denver Nuggets (+4) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (-4) – view all NBA lines
Series: Denver leads, 3-2
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Denver Nuggets (58-24 Regular Season)
It’s the Nikola Jokc and Jamal Murray show once again for the Nuggets in Game 5. The duo deliver the goods for the Nuggets, who took a 3-2 series lead following a convincing 124-98 home win on Tuesday. Jokic flirted with a triple-double, posting 25 points, 19 rebounds, and six assists, while shooting 10-for-18 from the field. The Nuggets’ big men are dominating Portland’s frontcourt, which is severely missing Jusuf Nurkic. It’s not just Jokic who’s punishing Portland in the paint. Paul Millsap is also silently making huge contributions, and he just had 24 points and eight rebounds in Game 5. So far in the series, the Nuggets are scoring 55.2 points in the paint — the most among all teams that made it to the second round. Murray, meanwhile, had 18 points and nine assists. He’s playing with a ton of confidence, which is not good news for Portland.
The over is 7-0 in Denver’s last seven games. After a win this season, the Nuggets are 32-28 against the spread (ATS) covering 53.3% of the time.
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (51-31 Regular Season)
The Blazers can’t survive in the playoffs if their big guns are not producing. Any by big guns, we mean Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Lillard scored 22 points in Game 6 but was 2-for-9 from downtown. His partner in crime was way worse, as McCollum only had 12 points on 5-for-16 shooting. It goes without saying that Lillard and McCollum need to be more efficient, while at the same time, involving their teammates more. Enes Kanter had a good start to the series, but has dropped way down in form of late. He scored just five points in Game 4 then coughed up only seven points in Game 5. Seth Curry had 16 points in Game 4 before going back to being just Steph’s little sibling in Game 5 in which he chipped in only seven points. Going back to Lillard and McCollum, Portland’s peripheral players have to step up — consistently — to lighten the load on the team’s star backcourt tandem.
Portland is 9-1 straight up (SU) in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Portland wins, 117-114.
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