Game 1 Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns Betting Odds, Lines Picks & Predictions

The Nuggets and the Suns will meet in the opening game of the Second Round of the NBA playoffs on Monday night in Phoenix. Both teams were underdogs in the first round but managed to come out on top in their respective series. The Nuggets got here after eliminating the Blazers and winning the series 4-2. On Thursday, they won the 6th game 126-115. Despite dealing with numerous injury issues, they put together a nice run over the last month. Denver lost only 6 times in the last 15 games. They’re now 51-27 SU and 38-40 ATS this season. The Suns also won their series 4-2 after cruising to a 113-100 win against the Lakers on Thursday. They’re also in good form going 10-5 in the last 15 contests. Their overall record this season is now 55-23. Against the spread, they’re 46-30-2. The two teams played three times in the regular season. Denver won twice, with both of those games going into overtime.

Line Movement

The initial odds favored Phoenix by -5.5. However, the line shrunk a bit and now stands at-4.5. The sportsbooks have set the total at 219.5.

Notes on Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets continue to do a fantastic job of remaining competitive despite multiple injuries. In the Portland series, they played without 3 of their top guards. Still, they managed to beat the team with one of the better offensive backcourts in the league. Of course, the biggest credit goes to Nikola Jokic. Apart from a dud in Game 4, he maintained the MVP-level of performances throughout the series. He averaged team-leading 33.0 points per game while shooting 52.8% from the field. Plus he took over most of the playmaking duties as the Denver offense mostly ran through him. Michael Porter Jr. and Monte Morris also stepped up to other occasions and had a couple of great games. Credit also goes to Aaron Gordon who did a lot of dirty work that doesn’t show in the stat sheet. Still, the regular season defensive issues were there again. Denver allowed Portland to shoot 41% for three and gave them even more open looks. An improvement in this area is a must and it will be the main focus ahead of Round 2. The Suns feature a much deeper and more potent team than the Blazers and will be able to punish Denver’s weaknesses.

The injury situation for Denver remains the same. Murray is out for the season, and Barton and Dozier are also unavailable for Monday.

Notes on Phoenix Suns

The Suns will enter the second round full of confidence after dismantling the Lakers in the last 2 games. They took advantage of Anthony Davis’ injury but gave solid performances even with him on the court. The Suns got through the first round mainly thanks to the fantastic defense and incredible offensive performances of Devin Booker. They held the Lakers to only 97.5 ppg in the whole series. On offense, Booker put on a show, scoring 29.7 points per game while shooting 43% for three. Chris Paul battled shoulder injury since Game 1 and was able to play only 28.2 minutes per game. His health will be one of the keys in this series. The other important factor will be the performances of DeAndre Ayton. The young center was excellent on both ends of the court in his debut playoff series. However, in Round 2, he goes against the presumptive MVP. How he fares against the Jokic will have a great influence on the outcome of this series.

Chris Paul is got to go, while Abdel Nader is questionable.

Betting Pick: OVER 219.5

The two teams had the opposite total trends in the first round. Five of Denver’s games went OVER, while Phoenix and LA went UNDER in all but one game. Still, the Nuggets and Jokic will be hard to stop, while the Suns will relish playing against Denver’s defense after grinding it out against the Lakers. Plus, it’s the first game of the series and the coaches are yet to find optimal defensive adjustments.