Golden State Warriors vs. Denver Nuggets Preview
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver
When: Monday, February 13, 2017, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors (-11.5) vs. Denver Nuggets (+11.5); total: 239.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: NBATV
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Betting on the Golden State Warriors (46-8)
Kevin Durant and the Warriors were involved in an emotionally testy meeting with Oklahoma City on Saturday, emerging with a 130-114 victory, Golden State’s third-straight win and eighth in the past nine.
There’d be less heated feelings later tonight for Golden State, though, and likely more scoring in Denver. Golden State has already defeated the Nuggets twice this season. They eked out a 125-101 win over Denver on Nov. 10 and scored a 127-119 triumph on Jan. 2. The Warriors have averaged 53.3 shooting from the field in those two contests and should continue to find lots of scoring opportunities against Denver’s defense that allows 111.9 points per game.
Durant, who scored 34 points in the Oklahoma City game, put up 21 points on 10-for-19 shooting in the January meeting with Denver. Despite Durant’s addition to a team already stacked with lethal scorers, the Warriors still manage to become No. 1 in the league in assists with 31.1 per outing.
The Warriors also pace the league in scoring with 118.6 PPG. They are 5-5 SU and 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 games in Denver.
Betting on the Denver Nuggets (24-30)
Mason Plumlee doesn’t have much time to study the Nuggets’ playbook before Denver takes on Golden State, but he’s probably going to see significant minutes anyway later tonight.
Plumlee was shipped from Portland to Denver Sunday in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic and a first-round pick and he could don a Nuggets uniform right away with Denver possibly without Danilo Gallinari, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Kenneth Faried, who are all nursing injuries.
If Plumlee ultimately couldn’t play against the Warriors, Denver will see increased shots from notable chuckers Wilson Chandler and Will Barton, who are averaging 15.6 and 13.5 points, respectively.
Of course, there’s Nikola Jokic, who is expected to put up great numbers again. Jokic scored 27 points in the 125-109 loss to Cleveland on Saturday. Prior to that, he dropped 40 points to go with nine rebounds, and five assists in the 131-123 win over New York last Friday. Chandler and Jokic each scored 21 points back in January against Golden State.
Denver’s offense doesn’t have much issue with the team fourth in the league with 110.5 PPG. The Nuggets’ defense needs to get tighter, however, especially against a squad like the Warriors.
Denver is 6-1-1 ATS in its last eight home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State (-11.5) wins, 122-115.
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