Nuggets vs Trail Blazers Odds, Picks and Preview

• The depleted Denver Nuggets visit the  Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, November 23rd
• Portland is a 5.5-point home favorite
• Find the odds, preview, and prediction below

The Denver Nuggets will be looking to break their four-game losing streak on Tuesday, November 23rd when they meet with the Portland Trail Blazers in a Northwest Division matchup.  Tip-off is scheduled for 10pm ET at The Moda Center.

Denver has been playing without superstar Nikola Jokic, who sat out the last two games due to a wrist injury. The reigning MVP is listed as questionable for this contest. The Blazers, meanwhile, are on a roll, winning three consecutive and most recently beating the Philadelphia 76ers over the weekend.

These two divisional rivals already faced off on November 14th, with The Joker’s 28 points propelling the Nuggets to a huge 124-95 victory in the Mile High City.

Nuggets vs Trail Blazers Odds

Odds as of November 22nd at Fanduel.

Depleted Nuggets

If it wasn’t bad enough that Jamal Murray is expected to miss most of the season as he continues to recover from knee surgery, Jokic’s injury is definitely a cause for concern. While it’s not expected to be serious, his absence is simply one that Denver cannot survive with.

#Nuggets injury report: Nikola Jokic (wrist) questionable. Bones Hyland (ankle sprain) out. Zeke Nnaji (ankle sprain) out. MPJ (low back) out.

— Mike Singer (@msinger) November 22, 2021

The team won’t likely push him to play on Tuesday if he’s not ready because ultimately, his long-term health is absolutely detrimental to the Nuggets. To make matters worse, Michael Porter Jr is dealing with nerve issues in his back and could miss the entirety of the campaign as a result.

Nevertheless, Michael Malone’s squad has enjoyed a respectable start, going 9-8. Will Barton has stepped up heavily to give Denver another scoring threat alongside Jokic, averaging 16.6 points and 4.1 assists on 40% shooting from downtown.

Last time out though, the Nuggets came up against a scorching hot Suns squad, who capitalized heavily on their shorthanded rotation as they annihilated them 126-97.

Although Denver was frankly outplayed in almost every category, there was one positive takeaway. Their entire first unit finished in double-digits, with Jeff Green leading the way with 19 points.

Malone’s group struggled to hit shots, though, draining just 29% of their threes and shooting a dismal 37% from the field. As a whole, scoring the ball has been a problem for the Nuggets, ranking 21st in offensive rating and averaging only 102.6 points per night.

Dame Leading The Way

Damian Lillard got off to a slow start to begin the campaign, averaging under 20 points a game and shooting the ball dreadfully. However, the superstar guard has evidently figured it out.

He just won Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 28.3 points and 8.3 dimes while going a perfect 22-for-22 from the charity stripe. In the process, the Blazers won all three games last week.

.@Dame_Lillard has been named the @NBA Western Conference Player of the Week.

Congrats, Dame! https://t.co/JTXBjj9XrB pic.twitter.com/M4Y4HbMcyJ

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) November 22, 2021

Lillard’s best performance of the lot came on Saturday against Philly where he erupted for a season-high 39 points as Portland secured a seven-point victory at home.

Overall, it was a tremendous performance from Chauncey Billups’ team, shooting an impressive 44% from deep and 50% from the field. They also hit all 23 free throws in the contest.

Dame had no shortage of help, either. Backcourt partner CJ McCollum dropped 18 while Norman Powell and Jusuf Nurkic added 18 and 11 points, respectively.

Playing away from the Moda Center has been the Blazers’ Achilles Heel so far. They’re a brilliant 8-1 on home court but have posted a dreadful 1-7 record on the road.

At 9-8, Portland is starting to find a rhythm and with Lillard starting to shine on a nightly basis like we’re used to, it’s going to be interesting to see how this team can do moving forward. It does seem like Jokic will probably be sidelined on Tuesday, which means this is a clear opportunity for the Trail Blazers to get revenge for their blowout loss earlier this month and extend their win streak to four.

Nuggets vs Blazers Prediction

Jokic or not, I do believe that Portland is going to come out victorious here. Lillard is unstoppable at the moment and really hitting his stride. Plus, the Blazers are a completely different team on home court.

Expect Dame and the rotation to thrive in front of their fans and continue their winning ways.

Pick: Portland Trail Blazers -5.5 (-110)