Nuggets vs Suns Pick – NBA Predictions & Odds 5/1/23
Phoenix Suns (49-39) vs. Denver Nuggets (58-30)
May 1, 2023 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Denver Nuggets -4.5; Over/Under: +226.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Phoenix Suns will be looking for revenge against the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 at the Ball Arena on Monday night.
The Phoenix Suns came into the series with plenty of momentum after taking down the Clippers in the first round, but they will be eager to bounce back in this one after getting thrashed by the Nuggets in a 125-107 road loss in Game 1 on Saturday. Kevin Durant led the team in scoring with 29 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks on 12 of 19 shooting, Devin Booker added 27 points with eight assists while Deandre Ayton tallied 15 points with seven rebounds. As a team, the Suns shot 51 percent from the field and just seven of 23 from the 3-point line as they went cold early on and could never recover after getting blown out by 37-19 in the second quarter. The Suns trailed in this one by as many as 25 points before they made a bit of a run to cut it to 10 points, but there was just too much ground to make up after such a poor start.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets look to have picked up from where they left off as they are now gunning for a 2-0 series lead after cruising past the Suns on Saturday. Jamal Murray led the way with 34 points and nine assists on 13 of 24 shooting, Nikola Jokic tallied 24 points with 19 rebounds and five assists while Aaron Gordon chipped in with 23 points on nine of 13 shooting. As a team, the Nuggets shot 47 percent from the field and 16of 37 from the 3-point line as they settled into their offense early and were never in danger after dominating the second quarter by 37-19. Murray was the real spark plug for the Nuggets as he finished with six 3-pointers while Jokic dominated the paint and grabbed 19 rebounds, eight of which were offensive boards.
Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games and 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against a team above .600. The Nuggets are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a winning record and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Head to head, the over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings overall, the Suns are 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings overall and the Suns are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings in Denver.
The Nuggets will be brimming with confidence after taking down the Suns in front of their home crowd, but the Suns opened the series as favorites and I expect them to play much better as the series goes on. You never want to get carried away after just one game, but the Nuggets were so slick on the offensive end in Game 1 and I think they can replicate that performance and go up 2-0 in the series. I don’t think the Suns win a game until the series goes back to Phoenix, so I’m sticking with the Nuggets to get the win here.