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Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday NBA Preview & Free Pick

Nuggets vs Thunder NBA Handicapping

Boston coach Doc Rivers always loves to point out that the NBA is a make-miss league. You make shots, you win. You miss . . . well, you know. At the end of the regular season, which we’re approaching, it’s a make-miss schedule.

Denver Nuggets (46-22) at Oklahoma City Thunder (50-17)
Tuesday, March 19
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
8 p.m. EST
Spread – Thunder -9 at Bookmaker
Total – 215.5

Matchup | Preview

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Games we should miss at all costs, like tomorrow’s meaningless Toronto-Charlotte snoozer.

And games that we would love to make in person, like tonight’s Nuggets-Thunder battle in Oklahoma City.

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The Nuggets strut into central Oklahoma with a 12-game winning streak, and a victory tonight will set a franchise record. More importantly, the Nuggets are engaged in a tong war with Memphis and the Clippers for the No. 3 playoff seed in the Western Conference.

OKC doesn’t figure to roll over. For a couple of reasons. First, the Thunder don’t ever roll over; they play hard every night. Second, OKC has its own individual battle going on with San Antonio for the overall top seed in the West.

Since the Western Conference playoffs figure to be a bar fight, any seeding edge will come in handy, and being able to take apart a weakened Lakers team or an inconsistent Rockets team in the Round 1 would be helpful.

So tonight’s game should have more of an edge than your run-of-the-mill mid-March regular-season matchup. [ad-6571516]

The Nuggets have accumulated their 12 straight wins primarily by kicking the stuffing out of teams at home, where Denver almost never loses (30-3). The Nuggets do have problems away from home, though, and they lug a 16-19 road record into Oklahoma City. The teams have played three times, with each holding serve on their home court.

Denver coach George Karl, an NFL lifer who has seen his share of streaks come and go in his decades in the league, likes what he sees from his team:

“Nine in a row in January and now with 12, we know we can win and play with anyone,” said coach Karl last night. “We’re building confidence.”

The Nuggets’ confidence will be through the roof if they can figure out a way to hold down Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder tonight. If they do subdue the Thunder, they might even get a thank-you card from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

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It’s a shame the Nuggets can’t be rested for this one, but it comes in the rear end of a road back-to-back, and the Denver had to expend a lot of energy in winning in overtime last night in Chicago.

Still, giving 9 points to a team that has won 12 straight games seems to border on insanity, so a look at an under play (despite what they say, the Nuggets’ legs have to be a bit tired) would seem in order as Denver probably won’t be able to maintain pace for four periods.

By Lawrence Paul

Lawrence Paul is back in the saddle as a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. He's got an AMAZING knack for predicting when a team will have a letdown! Stick with our resident gambling experts sports betting tips all season long!