Nikola Jokic and the winless Denver Nuggets are in town to face the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
The pregame narrative: An 0-2 record for the Nuggets is nothing to fret about, and it won’t keep me from backing them as road favourites tonight. On the player prop side of things, I think Nikola Jokic has a great opportunity to put up points and Jakob Poeltl should clear a reasonable rebounding line.
Check out my Nuggets vs. Raptors same-game parlay predictions for Oct. 28.
Nuggets vs. Raptors predictions
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Parlay: Nuggets -4.5 + Jokic over 24.5 points + Poeltl over 7.5 rebounds (+280)
Nuggets -4.5 (-245): No one in the Mile High City should be hitting the panic button after a pair of losses to start the season. But getting in the win column tonight wouldn’t hurt.
Denver is the better squad when both teams are at full strength, and the Nuggets are the healthier of the two teams right now. Kelly Olynyk is out for Toronto, while Immanuel Quickley is doubtful and RJ Barrett is questionable.
After losing by 30 in their opener, the Raptors beat a severely shorthanded 76ers squad and lost by double digits in Minnesota. Denver covered a -4.5 spread in both matchups against Toronto last year.
The Raptors are 6-19 ATS as home underdogs since the start of last season.
SGP legs
Jokic over 24.5 points (-210): You never know what kind of shooting volume you’re going to get from Jokic, which can make him a frustrating player to put money on. But his recent numbers against Toronto are great, and I like the idea of him taking over to help Denver nab its first win.
Jokic finished with 35 points in 38 minutes when he played at Scotiabank Arena in March, marking his third straight game of 25-plus points against the Raptors.
That makes sense given that Toronto allowed the sixth-most points to opposing centres last season, per Betting Pros.
Jokic went nuclear on Saturday, draining 7-of-12 threes in a 41-point effort. With an effective field goal percentage of 62.1% over the past five seasons, he’s efficient enough to clear this mark on far fewer shots.
Poeltl over 7.5 rebounds (-155): Without Olynyk, and possibly without Barrett, Poeltl has the chance to be Toronto’s top rebounder on a nightly basis.
That’s been the case in all three games so far, as the 7-footer has nine or more boards in each matchup.
Poeltl also cleared this rebounding total in 33 of 50 games last season and in two of three against Denver since he re-joined the Raptors.
Jokic will likely be tonight’s dominant force on the glass, but Poeltl should be under the rim enough on defence to rack up rebounds.
Picks made at 12:40 p.m. on 10/28/24.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.