OKC showed absolutely no signs of taking a step back in their opening game on the road, handily beating a Spurs team that took them out last season in one of the best playoff series in recent memory. After their historic 24-1 start to last season, OKC did well on night one to resolidify themselves as the team to beat in the West.
The Nuggets ended the preseason on a high note, taking out the Lakers in a game where Jokic and Murray played 31 minutes each while Luka Doncic played 19. Denver brings back the same starting five from last year, notably a group that went 18-5 in its 23 games together last season. Their bench, on the other hand, was rebuilt, leading with the signing of six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan on a one-year minimum deal. Marvin Bagley III, Alpha Diallo (EuroLeague Best Defender in 2026) and rookie Trevon Brazile are other notable additions who are set to have bigger roles with Julian Strawther out six weeks and Spencer Jones questionable. David Adelman shared throughout the preseason that he will look to play all five reserves together at times, an approach that you don't see often in today's NBA.
OKC won last year's season series 3-1. Both games at Paycom Center were tight, decided by six in overtime and by three, the second of them featuring a career-high 15 assists (no turnovers) for SGA. Denver lost one of its better defenders in Peyton Watson and did little to fix a defense that ranked 21st last year. Although Jokic is one of the most efficient offensive players of all time, I can't see the Nuggets being able to go basket for basket with a warmed-up OKC team in front of their home crowd. The Thunder seem to be the much stronger team to start the year and this one could get out of hand early, so I'll lay the 7.5. Laying the points on OKC in the first half is also playable.
Nuggets vs Thunder prediction: Thunder -7.5 (-113) available at time of publishing. Playable at this number.
