Nuggets Rolling Hot Into Thunder Showdown, and Denver's Got the Whole League Watching
The Denver Nuggets are playing their best basketball at exactly the right moment. Nikola Jokic and company just rattled off 10 straight wins, beating those opponents by an average of 9.7 points per game. That streak even included an overtime victory over the Spurs that ended San Antonio's 11-game run. With only two games left in the regular season, Denver (52-28) has locked into the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, leapfrogging both the Lakers (51-29) and Rockets (51-29). The oddsmakers have noticed too. The Nuggets are sitting fourth in NBA Finals futures at plus 850 at DraftKings, trailing only the Thunder (plus 120), Spurs (plus 500), and Celtics (plus 550).
Tonight's Matchup: Thunder Come to Denver Without Their Stars
On Friday night, the Nuggets will face off against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder at Ball Arena in Denver. This should be a mismatch on paper. Denver is favored by 11.5 points for a reason: the Thunder are reportedly sitting up to 10 players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. That's a ton of firepower on the shelf.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at KalshiThe Nuggets will have some absences of their own though. Five Denver players are questionable for Friday's game, including Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. That's worth monitoring, especially with Jokic being a three-time MVP in his prime.
Why Denver's Offense Is Scary Right Now
Look at what the Nuggets have been doing on offense during this winning streak. They're averaging 128.2 points per 100 possessions, which leads the entire league over the last 10 games. That's a significant jump from their season-long average of 121.1 points per 100 possessions, which also leads the league. Jokic is also on pace to become the first player ever to lead the NBA in both rebounds (12.9 per game) and assists (10.9 per game) in a single season. That's historic-level stuff.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and says Denver has a 67.0% chance to cover the 11.5-point spread against the shorthanded Thunder, assigning a B grade to the Nuggets minus 11.5 line.
Tip off Friday night at 9 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. If Denver keeps this momentum rolling, the rest of the league has plenty to worry about.
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