Trail Blazers vs Nuggets Picks and Predictions: Denver Bounces Back From Painful Collapse

After blowing their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets will look to get back in the win column when they host the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night. The Nuggets might not have a lot of talent around superstar Nikola Jokic right now, but the Blazers are currently without Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. 

Will Denver comfortably beat a shorthanded Portland team tonight? Keep reading our January 13 Blazers vs. Nuggets NBA picks and predictions for the answer. 

Trail Blazers vs Nuggets odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

The Nuggets opened as 8-point favorites in this home meeting with the Blazers, but they’re now laying anywhere from 8.5 to 9.5 across all books. Meanwhile, the total is currently between 215 and 216. It was originally set at 216. 

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Trail Blazers vs Nuggets predictions

• Prediction: Nuggets -8.5 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 216 (-114)
• Best bet: Jokic Over 7.5 assists (-120)

Predictions made on 1/13/2022 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Trail Blazers vs Nuggets game info

• Location: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
• Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
• Tip-off: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT

Trail Blazers vs Nuggets betting preview

Injuries

Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons G (Out), Norman Powell G (Out), Larry Nance Jr. F (Out), Damian Lillard G (Out), CJ McCollum G (Out).
Nuggets: Will Barton F (Probable), Markus Howard G (Out), Michael Porter Jr. F (Out), Jamal Murray G (Out), PJ Dozier G (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Nuggets are 4-1 against the spread in their last five home games against teams with winning percentages of 40.0% or worse. Find more NBA betting trends for Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets.

Trail Blazers vs Nuggets picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

The Blazers are coming off of a stunning upset victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, but it’s unlikely that they’ll catch a playoff team by surprise for the second game in a row. Without Lillard and McCollum, Portland is really lacking in talent and that gives a banged-up Denver team of the chance to get on the board with a straightforward win on Thursday. 

The Nuggets aren’t even going to have to deal with Norman Powell or Anfernee Simons in this game, which is another huge break for them. Simons had been looking solid off the bench to start the year, but he’s taken his game to a whole other level in the absence of two of the Blazers’ best players. Without Simons around to completely go off in this game, Portland is going to have a hard time sticking around. 

Jusuf Nurkic is really the only other Blazers player that can be relied on to do damage for Portland, but he’s not going to come close to matching the production of Jokic. The Nuggets have a huge edge at the center spot, and they can also count on some good play from guys like Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, and Monte Morris. 

Overall, the Nuggets are the better team in this one and they also happen to be in need of a win. That’s bad news for the Blazers. 

Prediction: Nuggets -8.5 (-110) 

Over/Under analysis

The Under has hit in each of the last three games that the Blazers have played and it’s also 7-2-1 over the last 10 Nuggets games. Both of these teams are struggling on the offensive end right now, and that shouldn’t be all that surprising when you look at who they have out there on a nightly basis. Both are missing key players and that’s just not going to make things easier on anybody scoring-wise. That’s especially the case for the Blazers tonight, as they will likely end up running their offense through Dennis Smith Jr. 

With the Nuggets 5-1 to the Under in their last six following an ATS loss, count on that trend continuing tonight.

Prediction: Under 216 (-114) 

Best bet

Jokic had eight assists in an 87-85 loss to the Clippers last game, but the big man was part of an offense that shot just 40% from the floor and 12.1% from deep. He would have had a heck of a lot more if his team was hitting anything, and this group should do that against a Blazers defense that is a disaster this season. Jokic’s supporting cast should also be boosted by the fact that this is a home game. And the return of Barton helps Denver drastically. 

With Denver’s perimeter players so banged up, the Nuggets have no choice but to play through Jokic even more than they usually do. That’s a good thing for those that are looking at player props, as the value is great on Jokic to dish out a bunch of assists. He’s simply too smart a player not to pick apart this version of Portland. 

Pick: Nikola Jokic Over 7.5 assists (-120)

Pages related to this topic