On a full slate of fun NBA Cup Group play matchups this Friday, the second game of the Prime Video doubleheader features a great matchup between the Warriors and the Nuggets. Golden State is 5-4 after losing without multiple starters to the Kings on Wednesday, while the Nuggets are 5-2 after beating the Kings and Heat in Denver to start the week.
On the injury report, the huge absence is Steph Curry (illness), who will miss a second straight game. Jimmy Butler (back) and Al Horford (foot) are questionable and Draymond Green (rib) is probable after he missed Wednesday’s loss. On the Denver side, there are no impactful injuries on the report.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Denver is heavily favored at home by 10.5 points, with the game total set at 228.5.5 points. In addition to the main game line, DraftKings Sportsbook has numerous player prop bets for Sunday night’s matchup. In this post, I’ll take a look at a few of my favorites. Let’s dive in.
Best Warriors vs. Nuggets Player Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jamal Murray over 31.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds (-117)
Murray is off the injury report and seems totally past his calf strain from earlier this season. He has a great matchup against the Warriors without Curry, who gave up big games to both Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder without Steph on Wednesday. While Butler’s potential return would be a big boost to the defense overall, it would still leave Murray in a good matchup to attack against Will Richard, who was outstanding on offense but struggled defensively.
Murray has started the season playing very well, averaging 22.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 33.4 PRA (points, assists, and rebounds).
He produced over 32 PRA in each of his first three games of the year but then was under this total in his last four while dealing with the injury. He only had 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists against the Heat on Wednesday, but he’s in a great bounce-back spot and should be able to get his PRA total back over this line on Friday night. The Nuggets lost their first NBA Cup game to the Blazers, so they’ll need to bounce back on Friday and get a home win against the short-handed Warriors.
Jonathan Kuminga 7+ First Quarter points (+102)
Without so many of his teammates on Wednesday, Kuminga took the initiative right off the jump and scored 11 points in the first quarter against the Kings. It was a huge turnaround after he didn’t score at all in the first quarter against the Suns the previous night.
Overall, though, he usually gets involved right away, scoring at least six first-quarter points in five of his last six games.
Without Steph, Kuminga should be involved enough to hit this number early in the up-tempo matchup in Denver. If Butler or other Warriors are also out, that will only boost his ability to reach this quick-hitter in the first quarter. The game could turn into a blowout without Steph, though, which is why I prefer this to Kuminga’s overall over/under of 21.5 points.
Tim Hardaway Jr. over 8.5 points (-109)
Hardaway Jr. has been a nice addition to the Nuggets bench so far this season. He has played 23.3 minutes per game in the second unit so far this season and has averaged 11.3 points per game.
He has scored at least nine points to go over this line in five of his seven games overall this year and four of his last five. On Wednesday against the Heat, he hit four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, which was his second-highest total of the season after dropping 20 points on the Timberwolves in his third game of the year.
Hardaway should be able to score at least nine points in a variety of game scripts and getting this point total at almost even money is a great value. I also like his points ladder, and I think you can be more aggressive with 10+ points at +126 or go all the way to 15+ points at +527 if you think the Nuggets get out to a lead and let their bench get more run late in the game.
