Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets 12/8/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers collide at the Moda Center on Thursday night.

The Denver Nuggets have been in a bit of a funk as they’ve lost six of their last 11 games and they will be hoping to arrest a three-game skid after falling painfully short to the Mavericks in a 116-115 loss on Tuesday. Aaron Gordon led the team with 27 points on 10 of 13 shooting, Nikola Jokic added 19 points with eight rebounds and eight assists while Bones Hyland drained five 3-pointers to finish with 20 points off the bench. As a team, the Nuggets shot 51 percent from the field and 13 of 32 from the 3-point line, but they allowed the Mavericks off to a flyer and were always a step behind after leaking 36 points in the first quarter. Jamal Murray had a night to forget as he missed all five 3-point attempts to finish with just 11 points on two of 11 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers had lost seven of eight games, but they are now gunning for a third straight victory after routing the shorthanded Pacers in a 116-100 home win on Sunday. Jerami Grant led the team with 28 points on nine of 21 shooting, Anfernee Simons added 22 points with six assists, Damian Lillard tallied 21 points with six assists while Jusuf Nurkic chipped in with 10 points. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 48 percent from the field and 17 of 40 from the 3-point line as they took a narrow lead into halftime, before they exploded for 39 points in the third quarter to lead by as many as 22 points.

Looking at the betting trends, the Nuggets are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a loss and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record. The Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games, 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a winning record and 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games playing on three or more days rest.

Head to head, the Nuggets are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings overall.

The Nuggets will be shorthanded again as Michael Porter Jr is still out, while the Trail Blazers should have a few players returning from injury including Drew Eubanks, Keon Johnson and Josh Hart. The Nuggets have opened as road favorites in this spot, but they have been a little below their best lately, especially Murray who stunk it up in Tuesday’s loss to the Mavericks. The Trail Blazers have looked great since Lillard’s return to the starting lineup and they have the advantage of three days rest as they haven’t played since their dominant win over the Pacers. This should be a clone one, but I’m expecting the Trail Blazers to grit out a tough win at home in this one.