Two championship-hopeful teams meet in the Mile High City on Tuesday.
The pregame narrative: Jaylen Brown is an elite second option for the Boston Celtics and I want in on his points prop. For the Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic is a good pick to do what he does best — stuff the stat sheet.
Check out my Celtics vs. Nuggets prop picks for Jan. 7.
Celtics vs. Nuggets prop picks
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Best Bet: Brown over 21.5 points (-125)
Boston should have no issue scoring against Denver. The reigning NBA champs score the fourth-most points per game (118.5).
The total for this game is currently set at 236 and the Nuggets hit the over in 64.7% of their games (third-most in the NBA). So there’s a solid chance this one gets out of hand.
Brown, the two-way guard, averages 24.3 points per game and has cashed this wager in four of the last six contests.
He starts at small forward since the Celtics run both Derrick White and Jrue Holiday in the backcourt but Brown is built more like a shooting guard, the position he spent the early part of his career playing.
That’s important to note because the Nuggets allow the most PPG (25.3) to shooting guards, per Fantasy Pros, and it’s by a wide margin.
For context, the Sacramento Kings allow the second most (24.0).
Key stat: Brown scored 22-plus points in four of his last five games against the Nuggets, scoring 30 or more three times in that span.
Quick pick
Jokic over 41.5 points/rebounds (-112): The Celtics are a terrible matchup for centres, but does it matter?
Boston allows the second-fewest points/rebounds/assists to the position (36.6) but Jokic has had success in the past.
He cleared this line in two games against the Celtics last season, averaging 44.0 PR.
The three-time MVP has somehow taken his game to a new level this year.
He’s scoring 5.1 more points per game and is leading the league in 3-point percentage (47.3%).
Jokic averages 44.5 PR so this line is well below his standard. If you can get past the tough matchup, this is a number worth taking.
Picks made at 10:51 a.m. ET 01/07/2025.
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.