The Denver Nuggets look for the clean sweep of their two-game road swing as they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Nuggets and Cavaliers split their two-game season series last year with the road team winning each game and Denver is a 5-point favorite tonight with the total Sportsbook at 222 points.
- The Nuggets are 5-1 ATS in their last six games with no days off between games.
- The Cavaliers are 1-5 ATS in their last six games at home.
- The total has gone OVER in five of the Cavaliers’ last seven games (avg. combined score: 227.86).
Nuggets vs Cavaliers Game Center
Denver continues to lean on its big man
Center Nikola Jokic has been leading the way for the Nuggets, off to their best start since the 1985-86 season with a 6-1 record. The Serbia native is averaging 21.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, topping the team in each category. With the Nuggets dominating under the rim, opponents are securing just 42.1 boards per game, which is the fifth-fewest in the NBA, while they grab an average of 49.6 rebounds per game, the fifth-most in the league.
Additionally, Denver is third-best in the league with 59.4 points per game in the paint, which doesn’t bode well for a Cleveland squad that yields the seventh-most points in the paint at 53.1 per game. Defensively, the Nuggets have been fairly sound, allowing 105.2 points per game which is the fifth-fewest in the NBA.
Cavs look for their second straight win
Unlike their counterparts, the Cavs are off to their worst start since the 2001-02 season with a 1-6 record but are coming off their first win. Even without starting power forward Kevin Love, they were able to swarm the Atlanta Hawks 136-114 on Tuesday. Cleveland did a good job shooting the ball in the win, hitting 50 percent of its shots from the floor, including 52 percent from beyond the arc (13-for-25). The Cavaliers average eight three-pointers a night, which is dead last in the league.
Cleveland doesn’t do a good job defending shots as it allows the highest shooting percentage in the league, with opponents hitting an average of 51.5 percent of their shots. The Cavs are doing a good job limiting shots, though, giving up the sixth-fewest shot attempts per game at 85.4, but 44 of those shots are going through the hoop. Meanwhile, without getting in the face of their opponents, they are surrendering the seventh-most assists against per game while averaging the fifth-fewest assists for.
OVER Trending in tonight’s game
Cleveland has been a strong OVER play through the first seven games of the season and Sportsbook has tonight’s total Sportsbook at 222 points. The Cavs have gone OVER in five of their seven games thus far with an average combined score of 227.86, going OVER 222 points in four of those contests. Meanwhile, three of Denver’s last four games have gone OVER 222 points with an average combined score of 228.75. Lastly, the Cavs’ defense begs to be scored on, allowing the fifth-most points per game at 117.9, while the Nuggets are scoring the 13th-most points per game at 112.9.
My take on Denver vs Cleveland
I like Denver to cover the 5-point spread. This game will be a battle inside the arc as neither team performs that well from beyond the three-point line, ranking 28th and 30th in three-pointers made per game. Cleveland is allowing the seventh-most points in the paint per game, while Denver is scoring the third-most points in the paint per game. Lastly, opponents are hitting 51.5 percent of their shots against the Cavs and the Nuggets are taking the 12th-most shots per game in the league at 91.6.
