NBA Best Bets Today: Predictions for Khris Middleton, Blazers-Nuggets on Thursday
By Peter Dewey
Who doesn’t love a good matchup between Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo in prime time on Thursday night?
The Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks face-off in what is easily the game of the night, while the Memphis Grizzlies put their 10-game winning streak to the test against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I’ve got a prop play in the Warriors-Bucks game, as well as a play on the total in the Portland Trail Blazers-Denver Nuggets matchup with Portland’s top four scorers out of the lineup.
Let’s get into today’s picks!
All odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.
NBA Best Bets Record to Date
- NBA Best Bets Record: 89-93-2
NBA Best Bets Today
- Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets UNDER 212.5 (-110)
- Khris Middleton OVER 20.5 Points (-130)
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets: UNDER 212.5 (-110)
Two of the worst teams against the spread will face off on Thursday night, as the Portland Trail Blazers (15-25 ATS) take on the Denver Nuggets (16-23 ATS).
Portland is getting completely crushed in the injury department, as Damian Lillard is expected to miss significant time to have surgery on the abdominal issue that has bothered him this season.
On top of that, Anfernee Simons, C.J. McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Normal Powell are also all out for this game.
With all of the injuries on the Portland side and Denver’s inability to cover the spread this season, I’m going to turn my focus to the total in this game.
The Blazers and Nuggets have both hit the under in more than half their games this season, and with Portland’s injury issues, I’m not sure where it finds offense from in this game.
The Nuggets are 24th in the NBA in offensive rating while Portland is 13th, but Denver is going to try and slow this game (25th in the NBA in pace this season). The Blazers don’t push the ball too much, as they are 19th in the league in pace, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they slow things down with less offensive weapons available tonight.
Lillard, McCollum, Powell and Simons are the team’s top four leading scorers this season, so it will be a lot of Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Robert Covington on Thursday night.
The Nuggets have played back-to-back games with neither team scoring 100 points, so I’ll roll with the under in this matchup.
Khris Middleton OVER 20.5 Points (-130)
Khris Middleton has been on fire as of late, averaging 24.8 points per game on 50.7 percent from the field and 52.0 percent from beyond the arc over his last four games.
Middleton has cleared this number in three of those four games, and he’s going to be called upon against a tough Warriors team without Jrue Holiday.
This season, Middleton is averaging 20.9 points per game in seven games with Holiday out of the lineup, and I think he continues his strong scoring performances on Thursday with Draymond Green out for the Warriors.