The Denver Nuggets have climbed out of the play-in positions in the Western Conference, and will now look to maintain that position. They will be tested tonight by the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that beat the Nuggets in an incredibly tight 87-85 game a week ago. Playing at home, the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic will be looking to get one back over the visitors.
You can find our full game previews here, but for now check out the same game parlay for tonight late tip-off.
While the Nuggets have been dominant on their current home stand, neither the Nuggets nor the Clippers have defeated one another by a margin greater than 7 points in their last 4 meetings. The Nuggets will run everything through Jokic again which can slow the pace of the team down. They are just 24th in the league in that category, and with fewer field goal attempts for both sides, they could struggle to create separation from each other. The Clippers are playing the first game of a crucial 8-game road trip, and they will look to start the trip off with a win. Take the Clippers to cover tonight’s spread.
When these sides met a week ago, Aaron Gordon was able to put together his best performance of the season so far. The Denver forward went off for 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. He was able to get to the line too, with his 7 free throw attempts being his highest total in over a month. The Clippers have a real lack of rim protection with Ivica Zubac being the man in the paint. He averages a block per contest, but does little to deter opponents from attacking on the inside. All but 1 of the shots Gordon made against them came in the paint, and considering the success he had, the same should be the case tonight. With a player like Jokic drawing attention and dishing the ball, look for high-flying Gordon to have another big night.
Reggie Jackson has not been shooting the ball well. So far in 2022 he is making just 32.5 percent of his field goal attempts and 24.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. In addition, he has not hit 3 shots from the perimeter in a game since the first one of the year for the Clippers. That is a run of 8 straight games with 2 or fewer 3-pointers made. The Nuggets do well to defend the perimeter, as they allow the 10th fewest makes in the league and the 8th worst 3-point percentage to opponents. The Nuggets held Jackson to 1-of-6 shooting last week and will be confident they can keep the Clippers guard from going off tonight too. Look to the under on this prop.
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