The Cleveland Cavaliers head west for a battle with the Denver Nuggets.
The pregame narrative: Denver has been riding high at home so I’m backing the Nuggets on an alternate spread. I also have prop picks on Donovan Mitchell and Nikola Jokic in this +360 wager.
Check out my Cavaliers vs. Nuggets same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 27.
Cavaliers vs. Nuggets predictions
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Parlay: Nuggets +8 + Mitchell over 23.5 points + Jokic over 1.5 threes (+360)
Nuggets +8 (-335): The Nuggets are 8-1 over their last nine games at Ball Arena. During this hot streak, they’ve beaten the Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks (twice).
Cleveland carries the best record in the NBA (26-4) but has lost two of the last three on the road.
The momentum in this spot rides on the side of the Nuggets and I’m buying in.
Taking an extra handful of points gives this leg extra cushion even though I believe Denver has a good chance to win straight up.
SGP legs
Mitchell over 23.5 points (-120): Mitchell’s scoring production has taken a dip this season (23.3 PPG) but it’s more of a “too-much-talent” problem, which is an issue every team would love to have.
The dynamic guard can still score at a high level, shooting above 40% from three. It’s about finding the right matchup and I think this is it.
Denver allows the second-most points to shooting guards (24.5), per Fantasy Pros. The standard line in this game is Cavaliers -3 and as mentioned before, I expect the Nuggets to keep it close.
Cleveland leads the NBA with an average scoring margin of +11.6, per Team Rankings.
Blowout wins are another reason for Mitchell’s scoring dip. But a close game with a good individual matchup is a good reason to get behind him on Friday.
Jokic over 1.5 threes (-112): The MVP favourite has been an assassin from 3-point range this season.
Jokic is shooting 50.0% from three and he’s cleared this line in 14 of the last 16 games. The do-it-all big man has added a legit three-point shot to his arsenal.
Jamal Murray is questionable for the Nuggets and if he is out, Jokic will spend more time on the perimeter which would ideally lead to more 3-point attempts.
He’s been so efficient, however, only a few attempts are required for this leg to cash.
Picks made at 11:50 a.m. ET 12/27/2024
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.