One of the more interesting games on the Friday night NBA slate sees the Golden State Warriors head to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Nuggets. While Steph Curry won’t play, the remainder of the Warriors may wind up cleared to play against Nikola Jokic and Co. who look like one of the Western Conference’s deepest teams through the early weeks of the season.
Here’s a Warriors vs. Nuggets prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday night’s game.
Warriors vs. Nuggets prediction, preview
As mentioned above, Golden State will once again operate without Steph Curry (illness). However, Draymond Green is back in the lineup tonight as Jimmy Butler (back), Al Horford (foot) and Moses Moody (back) all come in questionable to play. If those guys end up suiting up, the Warriors have what it takes to compete here. Butler and Kuminga form a formidable duo in the frontcourt with averages of 19.0 PPG/5.4 REB/4.5 AST and 17.2 PPG/7.1 REB, and the former can certainly step up as a lead playmaker in Curry’s absence. Moody has quietly averaged 13.0 PPG off the bench, while Brandin Podziemski also provides 12.6 PPG himself. Of course, Green remains one of the NBA’s top defenders while working as a connective piece on offense, and his 6.4 assists a night actually come in as a team-high. Overall, the Warriors rank in the top 14 in both raw scoring and opponent points allowed, and they’re 12th in NETRTG as well.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, enter with a 5-2 record to the Warriors’ 5-4 and have a cleaner bill of health on the injury report. The only player listed aside from G-Leaguers is Zeke Nnaji (ankle), who’s probable. Nikola Jokic continues posting unbelievable stat lines on a regular basis while averaging a triple-double with 24.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 12.0 assists a game. He’s also been very active as a disruptor in passing lanes with a team-best 2.3 steals a night. He’s joined by a pair of 20+ point scorers in Jamal Murray (22.7 PPG/5.3 AST) and Aaron Gordon (20.4 PPG/5.7 REB), the latter of whom is on track for a career-best season. While Cam Johnson hasn’t excelled as expected yet, he’s bound to turn his numbers around and Christian Braun has also posted a respectable 12.4 PPG as the final member of the starting five. As a team, the Nuggets have the league’s third-best NETRTG at 10.3 and are one of just three teams in the double-digits in the category. Additionally, they average the second-most points per game while allowing the sixth-fewest.
Warriors vs. Nuggets pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Nuggets are -9.5 favorites as strong -440 favorites on the Moneyline. The Warriors hold +340 odds to upset with a game total of 229.5.
Assuming Golden State’s injury report winds up with a positive result and Butler can suit up along with his role-player teammates, the team does stand a chance at keeping this contest competitive. The Warriors have plenty of experience and are battle-tested, and even without Curry active, there’s still plenty of fight left in the dog thanks to a collection of scrappy role players.
However, that’s largely where the encouraging signs end. Denver’s rotation remains just as deep, if not even better than their opponent’s. Jokic himself is impossible to handle in the post for nearly any frontcourt, though Green does occasionally seem to bother the Serbian big man, and there’s more star power at the top for the Nuggets even if Butler does play for the other side. Plus, the home team just does the little things well in nearly every facet of the game — Denver ranks seventh in AST/TO, fifth in REB%, and fourth in TS%. Golden State distributes the ball well, but isn’t efficient in all aspects as the Nuggets are.
Assuming folks are healthy enough to play, the Warriors are feisty enough to cover even with Curry sidelined. If Butler doesn’t end up active though, consider taking Denver regardless of how the spread shifts.
