The Denver Nuggets (19-11) will host the Portland Trailblazers (17-15) at Ball Arena on Friday, December 23, 2022. Tip-off is set for 9:10 PM ET between these two Northwest Division rivals. This will be their third meeting this season, with each franchise coming out with a win in their prior matchups in 2022. It should be a fun one, so let’s get to my best bets for this Western Conference showdown.
Blazers vs. Nuggets Betting Odds
| Blazers | Nuggets | |
| Spread | +4.5 | -4.5 |
| Moneyline | +160 | -190 |
| Over/Under | 232.5 |
*Lines accurate at time of publication
Blazers vs. Nuggets Best Bets
Nuggets -4.5 (-110 DraftKings)
These teams are comparable to each other on both sides of the court, but the advantage goes to the home team here, particularly at Ball Arena. The Nuggets have won ATS in five of their last eight home games and are outscoring the Blazers in average points per game on the season as well as over their last three-game stretches. Portland has struggled on defense in recent contests and Nikola Jokić, along with the Nuggets’ second-highest effective field goal percentage in the association (57.1%) will exploit them on the way to a convincing win.
Risk: 1.1 units on DraftKings to win 1 unit. (Playable to -120)
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Blazers vs. Nuggets Game Total Under 232.5 (-110 DraftKings)
I don’t usually love unders, but for this contest it makes sense. Despite sitting atop the Western Conference (with the Grizzlies), the Nuggets have averaged just 110.7 points in their last three games and are also yielding that same low number to opposing teams over the last three games. The Blazers are scoring the eighth-lowest points in the NBA in their last three tilts (108.7) and are allowing only 106.3 points to enemies in that time frame.
There are also some injuries on both sides here and I think it will end up being a low-scoring contest as the Blazers continue a long road stint.
Risk: 1.1 units on DraftKings to win 1 unit. (Playable to -120)
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