Written by :
Published on :
It’s a busy start to the week in the NBA, 11 Monday games commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Tuesday has just a trio of games, one quite intriguing as the defending champion Denver Nuggets, off a home win over the Indiana Pacers Sunday afternoon, visit the Philadelphia 76ers.
Denver enters at 28-13 at the midway point of its season (3-1 in the last four), beginning the week third in a crowded top half of the West. Denver is starting a five-game road swing,
Philadelphia was hosting the Houston Rockets in a Monday matinee, bringing a 24-13 record into that game. Philly lost three games in a row before easily handling the Sacramento Kings last Friday. As with the Nuggets, the Sixers began the week third in their (East) conference.
This will showcase two of the best players in the league, defending MVP Joel Embiid (if he plays, see below) of the 76ers and the Nuggets Nikola Jokic, winner the previous two seasons.
These two teams meet later this month in Colorado.
Lines weren’t available ahead of the Tuesday game as of this writing, with the Sixers in play this (Monday) afternoon. Once posted, please refer to NBA odds.
Jokic is Jokic
There isn’t a stat sheet the Denver Nuggets’ all-world big man Nikola Jokic can’t fill. The MVP in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons entered this week averaging 25½ points (15th in league), 11.6 rebounds (T-fourth) and 9.3 assists (third), shooting at 58.2 percent clip (13th).
It’s not as if Jokic isn’t getting help along the way, with Jamal Murray (20.6 points per game) and Michael Porter Jr. (16.3 points/game) leading a supporting cast on a very unselfish team.
Long-range models of consistency, Denver is at 37.8 percent in 3-point success this season, exactly its connection rate of a year ago. Want some more consistency? Denver entered this week surrendering 111 points/game (third), same as what it allowed last season.
An Injured Embiid
An injured knee and ankle of reigning MVP Joel Embiid have been the biggest issues around the Philadelphia 76ers. Entering Monday’s matinee, Embiid missed seven of the previous nine games. Embiid was leading the league in scoring (34.6 points/game), adding 11.8 rebounds (T-fourth). As with Jokic, Embiid isn’t alone, as Tyrese Maxey (26.1 points/game) adds to his scoring average each of his four seasons in the league, while Tobias Harris (17.9 points/game, 6.2 recounds/game) is a better than break-even floor shooter.
With or without Embiid, Philly is scoring (119.6 points.game, sixth in league).
Take the Sixers
Denver is 9-2 (+450) to defend its title, Philly at 14-1 (+1400), as per NBA championship odds.
Even though the Denver Nuggets seem to be the more complete team overall, winning at Wells Fargo isn’t easy.
Expect Nikola Jokic to get his points as usual, but the choice here is Philadelphia. However, before backing the 76ers, due your due diligence. As was mentioned, Tuesday is the second of Philly’s back-to-back (hosted Houston Monday), and the availability of Joel Embiid needs to be addressed. Is he able to play consecutive games, or is the plan to sit one (perhaps both)?
Check the odds, do your homework, then invest.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
