Does Portland remain winless away from home?

The Denver Nuggets get a visit from Portland. The Trail Blazers are in eighth place, four places lower than the home side. Both teams have had a mediocre start to the new season, although the home side has stabilised considerably of late: Only one of the seven games in the home Ball Arena was lost.

The guests from “Rose City” are also weak away from home: Only in the last guest game in Houston did they manage their first success away from home (1-6). For the Northwest Division clash between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers, the forecast is for a home win with at least a seven-point difference.

Denver Nuggets – Statistics & current form

The Denver Nuggets can still rely on reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. The Serbian presents himself as strong as an ox, just like last season. Only Rudy Gobert from Utah has more rebounds per game on average than the centre, and Jokic is also among the top ten in the scoring.

However, the big man had a freak-out a few days ago and pushed his opponent Markieff Morris so vehemently in the top game against Miami that the latter could only continue playing after receiving medical treatment. Due to this offence, Jokic was suspended for one game, but has been available again since the last matchday.

At least 20 assists and rebounds by Jokic?

In light of the Serb’s once very strong form, the odds on more than 19.5 assists and rebounds from him in the duel between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers are interesting in parallel.

A limit that Jokic clearly exceeded recently against both Atlanta (29) and Miami (25), and his seasonal stats of averaging 14.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists also support the selection of the additional value tip.

Nuggets shine stronger again

Head coach Michael Malone could otherwise be happier with his troops from the Mile High City recently. Four wins in a row have been achieved recently, bringing the win ratio for the ambitious Colorado franchise back up to a reasonable level at around two-thirds.

While the defensive work is very efficient – only the Warriors have a better defensive rating – the game going forward still has room for improvement. Only seven teams in the NBA have a worse offensive rating than the basketballers from the “Wall Street of the West”. Players like Michael Porter Jr. have yet to match their scoring prowess from last year.

In addition, the absence of Jamal Murray is having a negative impact. The second best shooter of the Nuggets in the past season has not played a game since last April and will not be able to throw a spalding for a long time due to his serious injury.

Predicted line-up of Denver Nuggets:
Jokic – Gordon – Barton – Green – Morris

Portland Trail Blazers – Statistics & current form

The Portland Trail Blazers, unlike their upcoming opponent, can count on their star player less reliably at the moment. We are of course talking about Damian Lillard, who has been unusually fickle in his performances this season.

Recently, however, “Logo Lillard” has improved. After the completely messed-up game against the Pacers a week ago, the point guard delivered an average of 25 points in the following four games. The upward trend can be clearly seen, because “Illard’s” seasonal value is still only at a comparatively weak 20 points.

Head coach Chauncey Billups will have been pleased to note, however, that various players on his team have stepped into the breach successfully before. In addition to Lillard, four other players are in double figures in points per game.

Portland convinces especially on the offensive end

This is why the Stumptown franchise ranks a respectable seventh among the NBA’s most offensively potent teams, despite Lillard’s interim troubles.

Nevertheless, the Nuggets’ clash against the Trail Blazers is a good bet for less than 213.5 points, as the opponent, as described, has a very strong defence and at the same time has personnel problems on the offensive side due to the loss of Murray.

Predicted line-up of Portland Trail Blazers:
Powell – Covington – Nurkic – Lillard – McCollum

Denver Nuggets – Portland Trail Blazers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Last season the teams from Colo and Oregon faced each other in the playoffs. In the round of 16, Denver prevailed then thanks to two victories in the final games with 4:2 in the contested series. The odds are also leaning towards a home win for the upcoming edition of Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers.

Denver Nuggets – Portland Trail Blazers Tip

The nine-time Northwest Division winners from the Centennial State have been strong at home so far. Six of the seven home games ended victorious. Only the Warriors top this strong record in the Western Conference. In addition, at least the defence is working very well, because once again, only the league leader in the West, San Francisco, concedes fewer points per game.

Furthermore, the Trail Blazers arrive with a very weak away record of only one win in the seven games they have played so far. A disappointing record, of course, especially considering the fact that the schedule for the visiting games at least partly offered easy tasks.

For example, they had to play the Clippers twice, who have to do without the injured top player Kawhi Leonard, or the basketball players from Cleveland and Charlotte, who were weak in form in the meantime. The forecast for the Denver Nuggets’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers therefore includes a home victory with at least a seven-point lead.

The statistics also support this, as the 1977 champions have only won two of their last ten away games in Denver. Unibet offers odds of 1.79 for the match between the Nuggets and Trail Blazers