Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 2/23/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Friday, February 23, 2024

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: ROOT Sports

The Denver Nuggets (36-19) are on their way to Moda Center on Friday where they will try to beat the Portland Trail Blazers (15-39).

The Nuggets faced off with the Kings and went home with a loss by a final score of 102-98 in their last game. Denver wrapped up the contest with a 39.3% FG percentage (35 out of 89) and converted 9 out of their 26 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Nuggets buried 19 of 22 tries for a percentage of 86.4%. When talking about grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 45 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 27 assists for the contest as well as forcing 14 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Concerning the defense, Denver allowed the other team to shoot 43.8% from the floor on 39 out of 89 shooting. Sacramento recorded 21 dimes and had 7 steals for the contest. Additionally, Sacramento totaled 48 rebounds (10 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 5 blocked shots. Sacramento shot 78.9% from the free throw line by converting 15 of their 19 shots. They made 9 of their 33 tries from distance. Concerning personal fouls, the Nuggets left the arena with 18 while the Kings finished the game with 18 personal fouls.

Aaron Gordon is one guy who was a contributor for the contest. Gordon walked away from this one shooting 53.3% from the field and also distributed 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 33 minutes played and totaled 15 rebounds. He accounted for 25 points on 8 of 15 shooting.

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Denver heads into this matchup with a record of 36-19 on the season. They are averaging 113.9 points per contest (19th in the NBA) while hitting 48.9% from the field. The Nuggets are hitting 36.8% on 3-point shots (631 of 1,713) and 75.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Denver is pulling in 44.1 boards per contest and has accounted for 1,575 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 6th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 12.6 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.5 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Nuggets are able to force 12.2 turnovers every game while drawing 18.7 personal fouls. They give up 36.4% on shots from downtown and they are 6th in basketball in PPG allowed (110.8). The Nuggets defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 46.9% (2,246 of 4,789) and they concede 42.0 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are currently ranked 10th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,405 surrendered so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Trail Blazers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 128-91 against the Timberwolves. The Trail Blazers were able to corral 26 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 for this contest. They gave up possession 15 times, while earning 8 steals in the game. The Timberwolves had 22 fouls for the contest which took the Trail Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 30 shots. They were able to make 21 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 70.0%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, Portland made 8 out of 29 attempts (27.6%). In all, the Trail Blazers went 31 for 83 from the field which had them sitting at 37.3%. The Trail Blazers allowed the Timberwolves to make 46 out of 89 tries from the floor which had them shooting 51.7% for the matchup. They finished 36.7% from 3-point land by going 11 out of 30 and walked away from this one shooting 25 of 27 at the free throw line (92.6%). In reference to cleaning the glass, Portland permitted Minnesota to collect 52 overall (11 on the offensive glass).

Jerami Grant pitched in for the Trail Blazers for this contest. Grant recorded 20 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to get an assist. He buried 6 of 14 in this contest for a rate of 42.9%, and totaled 2 rebounds.

Portland has a win-loss record of 15-39 on the campaign. As an offensive team, the Trail Blazers are shooting 44.0% from the field, which is ranked 30th in basketball. Portland has earned 5,825 points on the year (107.9 per game) and they collect 41.4 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 22.6 times per contest (30th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.9 times per game. The Trail Blazers are responsible for committing 20.5 personal fouls per contest and they hit 79.6% from the free throw line.

The Trail Blazers on defense are ranked 17th in the league in PPG allowed with 116.7. They have forced 14.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 49.4% from the floor (26th in the league). The Portland defense allows 34.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (622 of 1,794) and opponents are converting on 79.8% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 27.4 assists and 44.5 total boards per game, which is ranked 20th and 22nd in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Denver

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