Nets vs. Nuggets Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Thursday, Jan. 29

Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets came up just short on Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons, losing 109-107 despite being down four starters.

Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson all remain out on Thursday, but Denver is favored against the Brooklyn Nets.

Brooklyn upset the Nuggets earlier this season, but it has lost six games in a row and nine of its last 10, falling to the No. 13 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Nets have one of the worst offenses in the league, and they rely heavily on former Nugget Michael Porter Jr. on a nightly basis.

Denver has survived without Jokic, going 9-6 in the 15 games that he’s missed, but can it cover the spread without the three-time MVP on Thursday?

Let’s take a look at the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for the final meeting between these teams this season.

Nets vs. Nuggets Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Nets +7.5 (-115)
Nuggets -7.5 (-105)

Moneyline

Nets: +235
Nuggets: -290

Total

208.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Nets vs. Nuggets How to Watch

Date: Thursday, Jan. 29
Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
Venue: Ball Arena
How to Watch (TV): Altitude, YES Network
Nets record: 12-33
Nuggets record: 31-16

Nets vs. Nuggets Injury Reports

Nets Injury Report

Haywood Highsmith – out
Noah Clowney – out
Tyson Etienne – out
Egor Demin – out
Chaney Johnson – out
Cam Thomas – out
Ziaire Williams – out
Terance Mann – questionable

Nuggets Injury Report

Aaron Gordon – out
Tamar Bates – out
Christian Braun – out
Nikola Jokic – out
Cameron Johnson – out
Curtis Jones – out
Jamal Murray – probable
Jonas Valanciunas – probable

Nets vs. Nuggets Best NBA Prop Bets

Nuggets Best NBA Prop Bet

Peyton Watson OVER 18.5 Points (-126)

In today’s best NBA props for SI Betting, I broke down why Watson could have a big game against Brooklyn:

A former first-round pick, Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson has taken on an expanded role with Nikola Jokic out of the lineup over the last month. In 14 games without the star center (Watson missed one game during this 15-game stretch), Watson is averaging 22.4 points on 16.3 shots per game, knocking down 48.7 percent of his attempts from the field and 43.4 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Watson is making a serious case to get paid this offseason in a contract year, and while he failed to clear this line in his last game, he still took 20 shots for Denver. That usage is key, especially with Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson all also out on Thursday night.

Brooklyn ranks 26th in the NBA in defensive rating this season, and Watson had 23 points on 14 shots in his last meeting with the Nets. Since Jokic went down, he has 19 or more points in 10 of his 14 games.

Nets vs. Nuggets Prediction and Pick

Denver has played over .500 ball without Jokic, but it is just 20th in the league in net rating (-1.7) during that stretch.

Luckily, the Nets have been way, way worse than Denver over that same stretch, posting the worst net rating in the league (-13.2) while winning just two of those 15 games.

The Nets are set to be short-handed on Thursday, as key rotation pieces like Cam Thomas, Noah Clowney, Egor Demin and Ziaire Williams are all out. That leaves a lot of pressure on Michael Porter Jr. and some of the Nets’ young players to step up on Thursday.

I’m not buying it in Denver, as Brooklyn is just 10-11-1 against the spread on the road, posting an average scoring margin of -9.8 in those games. The team lacks offensive firepower, and the Nuggets are much easier to trust when Murray is in the lineup – even though Jokic is out.

After the Nuggets nearly upset Detroit on Tuesday, I think they get back on track against one of the worst teams in the NBA tonight.

Pick: Nuggets- 7.5 (-105 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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