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Nuggets NBA Championship Odds the Best They’ve Been All Year; Do They Offer Value?

Ryan Bolta

by Ryan Bolta in NBA Basketball

Updated Apr 3, 2020 · 3:51 PM PDT

Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets have had plenty of reasons to smile last season. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
  • The Denver Nuggets (49-23) sit second in the Western Conference
  • Current odds in sportsbooks list five teams with better odds to win the NBA title
  • Denver has a 30-6 record at home, which is tied with Milwaukee for the best mark in the NBA

The Denver Nuggets are the Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA – they don’t get any respect.

With a 49-23 record they’ve clinched a playoff spot and sit only a half game back of the Golden Warriors for top spot in the Western Conference. It seems with 10 games left in the regular season they’re finally starting to turn some oddsmakers into believers, as you can see from the latest 2019 NBA Championship odds.

2019 NBA Championship Odds

Team 2019 NBA Championship Odds
Golden State Warriors -220
Milwaukee Bucks +850
Toronto Raptors +950
Philadelphia 76ers +1100
Houston Rockets +1300
Denver Nuggets +1600
Boston Celtics +1800
Oklahoma City Thunder +4000
San Antonio Spurs +5000
Portland Trail Blazers +5500

*Odds taken 03/26/19. Click on the link in the table above to see odds for all available teams.

The Nuggets opened the season at +14200 to win the NBA championship, and have moved all the way up to +1600. Despite being in that tight race with Golden State there is still a massive gap between the two teams in the odds. With the Warriors offering no value, here’s the case for why Denver is worth your bet.

Denver is Dominant at Home

The Nuggets have 30 wins on their home court and only six losses. That record is only matched by the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference. Denver is neck and neck with Golden State right now and could end up with home court advantage all the way to the NBA Finals. In the high altitude opponents seem to struggle against the deep roster of the Nuggets and it’s something they could take major advantage of come playoff time.

When the games are condensed and the minutes rise, would you want to play in high altitude in a must win game? Didn’t think so. Neither do the stars on other top teams in the Western Conference.

Nikola Jokic is a Low Key Superstar

He doesn’t have a beard like James Harden or hog the headlines like LeBron James, but Nikola Jokic is an absolute superstar in this league. He’ll get MVP votes this season due to his box score stuffing tendencies. He’s averaging 20.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.6 assists. In addition to the numbers he’s also been absolutely clutch any time the Nuggets have needed him this season.

Jokic does it all.  He scores when it counts, he rebounds at an elite level, and he passes the rock better than any other center in the league. His 7.6 assists are three more than Marc Gasol who ranks second among centers in the NBA. He may not be flashy, but Jokic is absolutely the star a team needs to go deep in the playoffs, and maybe even win it all.

Top Competition Can Be Beat

Most years the NBA isn’t like MLB, the NFL, or the NHL. Underdogs don’t win, and the end result usually looks quite similar to the one we all expected. This year could be an exception however.  Our NBA Odds Tracker shows the movement has been wild during the 2019 season.

If there was ever a year a underdog could jump up and take the title, it’s this one.

The Warriors already have 23 losses, LeBron James isn’t even in the playoffs, and questions surround many of the contenders. Milwaukee has the next best odds to win in the East, and they are ravaged by injuries. The Raptors are right behind them with Kawhi Leonard seemingly missing one of every three games. If there was ever a year a underdog could jump up and take the title, it’s this one. Jump on the Nuggets’ odds before they move even more, getting them at +1600 is something you don’t want to pass up.

Pick: Nuggets (+1600)

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