The Los Angeles Clippers (3-6) will face off against the Denver Nuggets (8-2) in tournament action as they each play their second game of the group stage in West Group B. The Nuggets sit on top of the group standings with a 1-0 record while they’ll look to widen the gap with a win over the Clippers at home tonight. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver.
The Clippers will be missing Mason Plumlee (knee) while the Nuggets will be without the services of Jamal Murray, who will be out for the rest of the month with a hamstring injury.
Denver will come in as 4.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, priced at -192 on the moneyline while the Clips are set at +160. The point total is set to 225.
Clippers vs. Nuggets, 10 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Nuggets -4.5
The Clippers are on a five-game losing skid and haven’t been able to log a single win since James Harden joined the squad last week. They’re most recently off a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, handing the last-place team their second win on the season. Paul George dropped 26 points while James Harden came off the bench and scored 11 in Sunday’s loss.
Denver has been playing like a championship team as the Nuggets look to defend last year’s title. They’re doing a fantastic job of it so far, going 8-2 through their first 10 games. Their second loss of the season came in their last outing on Sunday, dropping a close 107-104 result to the Rockets as their four-game winning streak came to an end.
Nikola Jokic leads the team with 29.8 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game as the Nuggets cruise by team after team. He’s has done well to pick up the slack in Murray’s absence, though, logging two triple-doubles in the three games Murray has missed so far.
Take the home team to bounce back from the Houston loss and get a win over the Clippers.
Over/Under: Under 225
Both teams have had relatively solid defenses so far this season, with Denver allowing just 106.1 points per game from opponents while the Clippers are 12th in the league with an average of 111.8 allowed. Both sides are less than .500 to the over this season, and while I expect the Nuggets to pull off a win, I think we’ll see a relatively low-scoring affair.