Cleveland Cavaliers vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 3/31/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Sunday, March 31, 2024

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

The Denver Nuggets (51-23) will try to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers (45-29) at Ball Arena on Sunday.

The Cavaliers played the 76ers and notched a win by a score of 117-114 in their last game. Cleveland ended the game with a 54.9% FG percentage (45 of 82) and made 16 of their 37 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Cavaliers knocked down 11 of their 13 shots for a percentage of 84.6%. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they earned 37 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 34 assists in the game in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Regarding defense, Cleveland allowed 44.7% from the field on 42 of 94 shooting. Philadelphia doled out 28 assists and had 6 steals in the game. Moreover, Philadelphia pulled down 42 rebounds (16 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 3 rejections. Philadelphia finished the contest at 82.4% when shooting free throws by making 14 of their 17 shots. They made 16 out of their 40 tries from downtown. In relation to personal fouls, the Cavaliers ended up finishing with 17 while the 76ers accumulated 20 personal fouls.

Georges Niang is a guy who was a factor in this contest. He ended up scoring 25 points on 10 out of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 31 minutes played but finished the game without grabbing a rebound. Niang went 71.4% from the field but didn't record an assist.

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Cleveland will enter this contest with a mark of 45-29 so far this season. They turn it over 13.5 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 18.0 personal fouls every game. As a team, Cleveland is pulling down 43.7 boards per game and is sitting with 2,071 dimes so far this year, which ranks 8th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Cavaliers are shooting 36.6% on 3-pointers (1,011 of 2,759) and 76.3% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 112.7 points per contest (19th in the league) while going 47.9% from the floor.

On defense, the Cavaliers are forcing their opponents into 13.3 turnovers per game while drawing 18.9 fouls. They are surrendering 36.2% from beyond the arc and they are 5th in the NBA in opponents points per game (109.4). The Cavaliers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.9% (2,977 of 6,489) and they surrender 42.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 5th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,827 conceded on the season.

For their last game, the Nuggets walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 111-98 against the Timberwolves. The Nuggets snagged 33 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 46 for this game. They turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Timberwolves were called for 20 personal fouls in this game which got the Nuggets to the free throw line for 27 attempts. They were able to make 20 of those for a rate of 74.1%. When talking about 3-point attempts, Denver knocked down 8 out of 28 attempts (28.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Nuggets went 35 out of 88 from the floor which gave them a rate of 39.8%. The Nuggets allowed the Timberwolves to make 38 of their 74 tries from the floor which had them shooting 51.4% for this game. They finished 32.1% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 9 of 28 and finished the contest at 26 out of 37 at the free throw line (70.3%). When talking about attacking the glass, Denver allowed Minnesota to pull down 39 overall (6 offensive).

Nikola Jokic pitched in for the Nuggets in this game. Jokic earned 32 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 5 dimes in this contest. He converted 11 of 24 for the game for a rate of 45.8%, and added 10 rebounds.

Denver has a mark of 51-23 for the year. As an offensive unit, the Nuggets are shooting 49.4% from the floor, which is 5th in the league. Denver has totaled 8,463 pts for the campaign (114.4 per game) and they grab 44.2 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 29.2 times per game (3rd in the NBA) and they are turning it over 12.6 times per contest. The Nuggets are committing 18.2 personal fouls per game while shooting 76.5% from the charity stripe.

The Denver defense surrenders 35.9% on shots from distance (833 of 2,321) and their opposition makes 77.4% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 25.7 assists and 42.2 boards every game, which has them ranked 9th and 7th in the league. The Nuggets on defense are ranked 7th in the league in PPG given up with 109.9. They are forcing 12.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (8th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Denver

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