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With Denver leading the series 1-0, the Nuggets and the Trailblazers will square off in this Western Conference semifinals Game 2 in Denver on Wednesday night.
The Nuggets (2nd seed) got through a very difficult series against the experienced San Antonio Spurs, which they won 4-3, and they came out firing in Game 1 against the Blazers despite not having much rest. They beat the Blazers by (only) 8 points, but quite honestly it was never in doubt after the 3rd quarter. The Nuggets will now be pumped up to defend home court advantage for 2/2 games, and go to Portland as massive favorites to win the series.
The Blazers (3rd seed) must have felt they had a great chance in Game 1 against the Nuggets, considering their big 4-1 win over the Thunder in the first round, and given the fact that they had 4 more days of rest compared to their opponents. However, it wasn`t to be, despite another big game by Dame Lillard, and the Blazers really need to win this one if they don`t want to dig themselves a hole.
Bet on Nuggets vs Blazers and claim your 100% (120 Eur) welcome bonus at LSbet!Team news: There are no new injuries or suspensions for either team, but the Blazers will have to keep fighting on without their best big man, Nurkic, who fell down injured right before the playoffs.
The Nuggets had some issues early on in the series against the Spurs, as their playoff inexperience showed against a very experienced team. However, they navigated well through those issues and were clearly the superior team in the second part of that series, winning 3 of the last 4 games. They entered this semifinals series against the Blazers on a high, and they showed their quality again in Game 1.
Leaving aside the fact that Denver has home court advantage (the best in the NBA given the altitude in Denver), their good form, or the fact that they are the higher seed and arguably better team, the main point in this match (and series) is the fact that Portland doesn`t have anyone to stop Denver`s main man, Nikola Jokic.
With Nurkic out, the Blazers have to put Kanter on Jokic, which simply can not work for them. Kanter is a bad defender, and he isn`t even fully healthy, struggling with a shoulder injury. He was great offensively in Game 1, but defensively he was a non factor, as Jokic scored 37 points on 11/18 shooting, and was never bothered by Kanter or Harkless (who was put on him in desperation by Portland coach Terry Stotts). And Jokic controlled the game well beyond his 37 points.
The Blazers have their work cut out for them in Denver, and quite honestly they just seem to be the worse team in this matchup. In Game 1 they shot 52% from the field, 38% from three, and their main man Lillard was exceptional. What more can they do? In fact, you would expect Lillard to finally cool off after a series of amazing games in a row, and that would be a nail in the coffin for the Blazers.
With Nurkic out and Kanter hobbled, this is simply a very bad matchup for Portland.
Now the Blazers don`t even have the advantage of being the more rested team as they did in Game 1, so I can easily see Denver dominating them again. My tip will be the Nuggets to win.
Although I reckon the Nuggets will win by double digits, I`ll choose the extra safety of the straight win, just in case. If the game is close, the Nuggets have the one on one matchups to make the difference at the end, plus the crowd behind them. For this particular matchup, and looking at the prices, I don`t think it`s worth taking the extra risk of betting the handicap (which stands at -4 points). Prediction: Denver Nuggets – Portland Trailblazers 117 – 106.
Pick: Nuggets
Odds: 1.61 @ 1xBet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 5.49
Event date: 2 May
