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The No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets and sixth seed Portland Trail Blazers will get their first round series started on Saturday, May 22, and oddsmakers suggest this should be an incredibly even series. Below is a look at the numbers according to oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers odds to win series
Blazers: -106
Nuggets: -115
Denver is still favored as the higher seeded team but not by much, as it would not be considered a major upset if the Trail Blazers advanced to the second round against the No. 6 seed. This likely has a lot to do with the injury that Nuggets’ second leading scorer Jamal Murray suffered last month that ended his season. Denver is also dealing with injuries to Will Barton and P.J. Dozier, both of whom will hope to return to the floor at some point during the opening round series.
Who will win the series?
Just like the oddsmakers suggest, this is a toss-up series that can go either way. We’re going with the Trail Blazers to pull off this slight upset and advance. Portland is not dealing with many injuries on their end, and the Nuggets’ injuries will catch up to them. The Trail Blazers played well to end the season as they won 10 of their final 12 games of the regular season including a 132-116 victory over the Nuggets in the season finale.
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