The Denver Nuggets will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana Friday to take on the Pelicans. The Nuggets are 0-2 against New Orleans this season, with both losses coming on national television.
Denver Sports Betting is here to provide a betting preview of tonight’s game between the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans. If you want to take a look at prop bets for Friday’s game, head over to DenverSportsBetting.com or click here.
Betting Trends/Statistics
The Nuggets are 0-6 against the spread in their last six games against New Orleans.
The Nuggets opened as +3 underdogs, but that number has since spiked to +4 given the injuries they are dealing with.
The over/under is set at 229.5 after opening at 231.
The Nuggets are currently 19-22-3 against the spread and have covered just twice in their last five games. Denver is 4-6 in their previous ten games against the over/under, with six of the last eight games going under.
Denver has been sharp in straight bets, posting a 14-6 mark in their last 20 games.
The Pelicans are currently 23-21-1 ATS, including 4-1 in their last five games and 8-2 in their last ten games. The Pelicans have hit the over in 11 of their last 12 games.
The Pelicans are also 10-5 in straight bets in their last 15 games.
These two teams play totally different styles and rely on various aspects of basketball for their team’s success. The Nuggets have been a defensive juggernaut while the Pelicans have been explosive on offense.
The Nuggets rank 20th overall in offense and 6th on defense. While the Pelicans rank 6th on offense and 29th on defense overall. The Nuggets and Pelicans are both 3-2 in their last five games.
Zion Has Arrived!
The Pelicans lost their last game to the San Antonio Spurs, but the real story was the debut of #1 overall pick Zion Williamson.
Williamson was terrific in his first game, scoring 22-points, including 17 straight in the 4th quarter. Zion had concerns regarding his ability to consistently hit a long-range jumper in the NBA. He was able to quiet those critics, for now, becoming the first player in NBA history to make four or more threes without a single miss in their debut.
New Orleans is 17-28 and desperate for wins as the midway point in the season approaches. The Pelicans are sitting at 12th in the Western Conference, which is four games back of the 8th seed.
The Pelicans have appeared in numerous trade rumors involving veteran players Jrue Holiday and J.J Redick. That said, general manager David Griffin put a pause to those rumors this week. Griffin wants to see what the team looks like now that Zion is healthy and active.
Nuggets Injury Concerns
The injury bug has hit the Nuggets hard over the past couple of weeks. Denver was one of the healthiest teams in the NBA during the first couple of months of the season, but their luck changed quickly. The Nuggets are currently down three of their five starters and 5 of their top 7 players.
Jamal Murray has been out the last four games with an ankle sprain. He will continue to miss games for the foreseeable future.
Gary Harris has been out the last five games with an abductor strain. His return has been upgraded to questionable against New Orleans.
Paul Millsap has missed the most games at eight, and his return is unclear with a knee contusion/sprain.
Michael Porter Jr. missed Denver’s last game against Houston with upper-back tightness. His return against New Orleans is questionable.
Mason Plumlee will be out 2-4 weeks with a cuboid injury to his right foot. Plumlee is likely to miss the most time out of this group.
The Nuggets are currently 4th in the Western Conference standings and 2nd in the northwest division, with a surging Utah Jazz team leading the pack.
