Nuggets at Wizards – Take Denver and the Points
Denver Nuggets (33-16 SU, 28-20-1 ATS) at Washington Wizards (10-39 SU, 18-30-1 ATS)
Friday, February 6
BetUS NBA Odds: DENVER -7, Total 205.5
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* DEN has covered six of its last eight games
* DEN has won six of its last seven games SU
* DEN has won and covered four of its last six road games
* DEN has played six of its last eight road games OVER the total
* WASH is 1-6-1 ATS in its last eight games
* WASH has lost seven of its last eight games SU
* WASH has played four of its last five games OVER the total
* WASH has covered two of its last eight home games
* WASH has lost six of its last eight home games SU
Also…
* DEN has won and covered nine of the last 11 meetings
* Nine of the last 10 meetings have gone UNDER the total
* DEN has won and covered four of the last five meetings as the road team
* Four of the last five meetings in Washington have gone OVER the total
* DEN has had the shooting edge in seven of the last ten meetings
* WASH has made more three-pointers in four of the last six meetings
Carmelo Anthony came back to action after sitting out with a broken hand, and the Denver Nuggets have won the last three games, and in two of them they have shot 50% or better from the field. Denver barely got by Oklahoma City on Wednesday night (114-113) and they won that game without point guard Chauncey Billups, who was suffering from an ankle sprain, but Billups insists that he is going to be in the lineup for Friday’s game.
Washington, as we know, has suffered without Gilbert Arenas, who has been out of the lineup the whole season. With just ten straight-up wins, the Wizards are angling for the worst record in the NBA. Certainly the team has offensive weapons – Antwan Jamison and Caron Butler (who sat out the last game with the flu) are players who have made All-Star teams in the past – but this team does not defend the opposition.
Washington is third from the bottom in the NBA in field goal percentage defense (47.8%) and they have lost touch in their last two games, dropping decisions by 27 points to the Nets and 16 to the Grizzlies, both at home. New Jersey shot over 61% against them; Memphis hit almost 50% of its shots, and the Sixers, in dealing Washington a 10-point loss at the Wachovia Center a week ago, was 54.5% accurate.
‘Melo has had back-to-back games scoring 35 and 32 points, shooting 50%. He also took it upon himself to make some plays against Oklahoma City, dishing out eleven assists. Kenyon Martin is expected to be on the court tonight, having recovered from a strep throat infection. It’s not as if there is any conceivable home field advantage on the part of Washington either, as the Wizards have covered just nine of their last 25 games at the Verizon Center. Denver is 7-3 ATS as a road favorite.
We don’t usually lay this kind of chalk on the road, but in this case the circumstances demand it. We’re on the side of the Nuggets, the seven-point favorite in the BetUS NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.
