Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 12/16/20

The Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets meet Wednesday in NBA preseason action at the Ball Arena.

The Portland Trail Blazers look for another preseason win after splitting their first two games against the Kings. The Portland Trail Blazers are averaging 116.5 points on 45.6 percent shooting and allowing 111.5 points on 39.9 percent shooting. Harry Giles III is averaging 18.5 points and two assists while Gary Trent Jr. is averaging 17.5 points and two rebounds. CJ McCollum is the third double-digit scorer and Derrick Jones Jr. is grabbing 5.5 rebounds. The Portland Trail Blazers are shooting 45.3 percent from beyond the arc and 77.6 percent from the free thitem line. The Portland Trail Blazers are allowing 30.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 48.5 rebounds per game.

The Denver Nuggets look for a win after losing their preseason opener to the Warriors. The Denver Nuggets are averaging 105 points on 43 percent shooting and allowing 107 points on 43.8 percent shooting. Nikola Jokic is averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds while Gary Harris is averaging 11 points and three assists. Monte Morris is the third double-digit scorer and Isaiah Hartenstein is grabbing four rebounds. The Denver Nuggets are shooting 28 percent from beyond the arc and 72 percent from the free thitem line. The Denver Nuggets are allowing 27.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 48 rebounds per game.

The Trail Blazers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 2 days rest and 17-5 ATS in their last 22 Wednesday games. The Nuggets are 4-1-2 ATS in their last 7 home games and 10-4-2 ATS in their last 16 games overall. The over is 26-11 in Trail Blazers last 37 overall. The over is 4-1 in Nuggets last 5 overall. The Trail Blazers are 5-12-1 ATS in the last 18 meetings.

The Portland Trail Blazers were very solid defensively in their first two preseason games, and you could argue they’re the better team here overall. The Denver Nuggets came up short against the Warriors their first time out, and they’re a club that for the most part has its rotation set. Teams like the Nuggets usually don’t run their starters a ton in these games, so you’re trusting a lot of backups. Either way, I’ll take Portland as an underdog.