Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 12/19/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: Rip City Television Network

The Denver Nuggets (14-10) are on their way to Moda Center on Thursday where they will meet the Portland Trail Blazers (8-18).

The Nuggets took the court against the Kings and notched a win by a score of 130-129 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Nuggets walked away with 18 and the Kings recorded 23 fouls. They also buried 12 of their 35 attempts from beyond the arc. Sacramento went 95.0% when shooting free throws by converting 19 of their 20 attempts. Furthermore, Sacramento collected 42 rebounds (11 offensive, 31 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Sacramento distributed 28 assists and had 10 steals in the matchup. Pertaining to defending, Denver let their opponent shoot 48.0% from the floor on 49 out of 102 shooting. They also doled out 38 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and getting 9 steals. In regard to getting rebounds, they collected a total of 55 with 15 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Nuggets converted 18 of 24 attempts for a rate of 75.0%. Denver finished the contest having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (51 of 102) and knocked down 10 of their 28 three-point attempts.

Jamal Murray is a guy who was a major contributor in this game. Murray finished the game shooting 42.3% from the field and earned 6 assists. He was on the court for 38 minutes played and also totaled 2 boards. He ended up with 28 points on 11 out of 26 shooting.

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Denver comes into this one with a record of 14-10 on the season. They are turning it over 14.9 times per game and as a squad they are committing 18.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Denver is snagging 45.0 boards per contest and has totaled 740 assists this season, which ranks 7th in basketball in terms of passing. The Nuggets are shooting 38.0% on shots from downtown (277 of 729) and 75.3% from the free throw line. They have an average of 119.2 points per game (5th in the league) while going 49.4% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Nuggets are forcing 15.0 turnovers every game while drawing 21.2 fouls. They are giving up 35.9% from 3-point land and they are 23rd in the league in points per game allowed (116.5). The Nuggets defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 46.8% (1,045 of 2,235) and they concede 43.8 boards per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 23rd in the league in giving up assists with 709 relinquished on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Trail Blazers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 116-109 when they faced the Suns. Concerning rebounding, Portland permitted Phoenix to pull down 46 overall (12 on the offensive glass). They finished 38.5% from 3-point land by going 15 out of 39 and finished the contest at 15 out of 19 from the free throw line (78.9%). The Trail Blazers permitted the Suns to make 43 out of their 89 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.3% for this contest. Overall, the Trail Blazers ended up shooting 42 out of 94 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.7%. When discussing shooting from downtown, Portland converted 15 of their 49 tries (30.6%). They were able to convert 10 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 76.9%. The Suns had 13 fouls for the matchup which took the Trail Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 13 shots. They also turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 6 steals for this game. The Trail Blazers recorded 36 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards totaling 48 for the contest.

Anfernee Simons was important for the Trail Blazers for the contest. He converted 7 of 15 for the matchup giving him a rate of 46.7%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. Simons had 20 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and had 5 assists for the contest.

Portland has a win-loss record of 8-18 for the season. The Trail Blazers commit 19.8 fouls per contest and they hit 77.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 22.5 times per game (28th in the league) and they are turning it over 16.7 times per contest. Portland has scored 2,779 pts on the campaign (106.9 per contest) and they collect 42.9 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Trail Blazers are shooting 43.8% from the field, which is ranked 27th in basketball.

The Portland defense allows 37.6% on 3-point attempts (363 of 966) and their opponents are converting on 79.4% of their free throw attempts. They allow 27.8 dimes and 45.4 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 24th and 24th in basketball. The Trail Blazers on the defensive side of the court are 22nd in the NBA in points allowed per game with 116.1. They have forced 16.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 47.5% from the floor (22nd in the NBA).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland

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