The Denver Nuggets hit the road to take on the Portland Trail Blazers in a Northwest Division matchup on Friday at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Portland is 15-39 overall and 9-17 at home, while Denver is 37-19 overall and 15-14 on the road. Denver currently holds the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, and is coming off an impressive 130-110 win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday. The Trail Blazers are looking to snap a six-game losing streak in their first game since the All-Star break. Jamal Murray (leg) has been ruled out for the Nuggets.
Tip-off in Portland is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET. The Nuggets are favored by 9.5 points in the latest Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets odds, and the over/under is 218.5 points.Before making any Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer simulation model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 18 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 60-36 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for the game:
Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets spread: Trail Blazers +9.5
Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets over/under: 218.5 points
Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets money line: Trail Blazers: +339, Nuggets: -441
Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets picks: See picks here
What you need to know about the Nuggets
The Nuggets can finally bid farewell to their three-game losing streak thanks to their game on Thursday. They put the hurt on the Washington Wizards with a dominant 130-110 win. Nikola Jokic was nothing short of spectacular. He dropped a triple-double on 21 points, 19 rebounds, and 15 assists.
Jokic continues to separate himself from the pack in the race for this season’s MVP award. He enters Friday averaging 26.0 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game. The Nuggets have four other players averaging double-digit points per game, led by Jamal Murray (20.4) and Michael Porter Jr. (16.1). Denver is 10-18-1 against the spread in road games this season. See which team to pick here.
What you need to know about the Trail Blazers
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers’ recent rough patch got a bit rougher last Thursday after their sixth straight loss. They took a serious blow against Minnesota, falling 128-91. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Trail Blazers in their matchups with the Timberwolves: they’ve now lost three in a row.
The Blazers are a team that is clearly in rebuilding mode in their first season following the Damian Lillard era. Anfernee Simons leads the team in scoring, averaging 22.9 points per game to go with 5.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds. His supporting cast includes veteran forward Jerami Grant, who averages 21.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. See which team to pick here.
How to make Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets picks
The model has simulated Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the model’s pick at SportsLine.