Free Daily NBA Lock Pick, Tuesday December 19th: Boston vs Golden State 10:00pm ET
CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW
A non-conference matchup in the NBA is set for Wednesday when the Denver Nuggets (18-10, 12-15-1 ATS) head north to take on the Toronto Raptors (11-15, 12-13-1 ATS). The Nuggets are currently in third in the West, while the Raptors are clinging onto to the 10th spot. The Nuggets are fresh off a big win over Dallas, winning at home over the Mavericks 130-104 and easily covering the 8.5-point spread. The Raptors are also off a home win, defeating the Hornets 114-99 and covering the 12.5-point spread. This is the first of two matchups between these teams this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 EST from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Get our top NBA Free Picks and increase your bankroll!
The Denver Nuggets are opening up a three game Eastern Conference road trip, before playing the Christmas Day matchup against the Warriors. Denver will visit Toronto, Brooklyn and Charlotte before the holiday. Denver just had a three game home stand, where they went 2-1 with wins over Dallas and Brooklyn, but dropped a game to Oklahoma City. In their last game, Denver won with a balanced attack led by Jamal Murray with 22 points in the win.
Nikola Jokic is putting together another MVP-caliber season with averages of 26.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG and and 9.4 APG. Jokic had a quiet scoring game against Dallas in their easy win, only scoring eight points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Murray is the next top scorer with 18.3 PPG to go with 5.7 APG. Denver plays a fluid offense as Murray, Jokic, or Reggie Jackson can all act as point guard on any given possession. Michael Porter Jr. is their best shooter with 2.8 made threes per game on 38.9% shooting from deep, he also adds 16.5 PPG and 7.9 RPG. Aaron Gordon (13,3 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (10.5 PPG) round out the rest of the starting lineup as above average role players.
Reggie Jackson either starts due to injury, or is a spark off the bench, he scores 13.6 PPG in either role. Christian Braun and Julian Strawther provide quality bench minutes on the wing. Denver currently ranks 2nd in the league in offensive efficiency and 11th in defensive efficiency according to dunksandthrees.com. The Nuggets play at a slow pace on offense, they rank 27th in pace of play.
Injury Report: No injuries that will affect the depth chart