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Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

Tuesday night features seven games happening in the Association, and the biggest one takes place in Colorado between the reigning champion Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

Boston (26-10) is off to another strong start this season but hasn't been as dominant in the first two months as they were at this point last year. Meanwhile, the Nuggets (20-14) have shown flashes of offensive brilliance amid another MVP-caliber season from Nikola Jokic.

The Celtics are -6-point favorites tonight, so let's preview this exciting matchup with our best bets.

Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets betting picks and predictions

Boston Celtics -6.0 (-110)

Boston wraps up a tough four-game road trip with a highly anticipated matchup in Denver against the Nuggets.

So far on the road trip, the Celtics have defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets but lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The loss to OKC was a hard pill to swallow because Boston had scored 65 points in the first half and went into the break 10 points ahead. However, they went ice-cold and scored just 27 points in the second half, including just 12 in the fourth quarter. Their second-half collapse allowed OKC to take the lead and win the game by 13.

That was their third game in four days, so it's possible that they had some tired legs on the floor by the second half. The Celtics are hoping to bounce back from that disappointing loss and they are fortunate enough to have a completely healthy lineup for Tuesday.

Injuries have prevented Boston from competing at its highest level because Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday have all missed multiple games this year.

When Boston is healthy, they are the most difficult team in the league to beat because the entire starting five can shoot from the perimeter, they have elite wing defenders, their bench is extremely productive, and they have an MVP candidate in Jayson Tatum scoring 30 points a night.

Jokic has been playing out of his mind recently. The three-time MVP is averaging 31.5 points, 13 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game this season. He's been the heart and soul of the offense and he will need to continue his incredible production as long as Aaron Gordon remains sidelined. Gordon has been dealing with a calf injury and has missed the last six games.

Denver has missed the forward's physicality in the paint and athleticism on the perimeter. That means someone will have to step up in his absence. With Gordon out, the Nuggets' starting five has been Jokic, Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook, Christian Braun, and Michael Porter Jr.

It's an extremely small lineup that hasn't been too productive considering Jokic has had to score 46, 41, 23, 36, 37, and 27 points in the last 6 games to keep Denver competitive.

It's easy to envision Denver's size to be a huge disadvantage in this game because the Celtics have the size on the perimeter to stretch the floor and create mismatches. I'm backing Boston to close out their road trip with a win and cover the spread against Denver tonight.

Over 235.5 Total Points (-110)

The Celtics and Nuggets have been two of the best offensive teams in basketball. These two teams rank third and fourth in points per game at over 118 while also ranking second and fourth in offensive rating.

First, it could pay to focus on what makes Boston so dangerous. Boston's healthy starting five is the most dangerous of all 30 teams because each player can shoot the three. Having a unicorn like Porzingis stretches the floor for the Celtics and makes them extremely hard to defend.

Plus, Boston manages to keep either Brown or Jayson Tatum on the floor at all times to run the offense. And it's hard to forget about Holiday and Derrick White who are both phenomenal perimeter defenders and excellent three-point shooters.

It's a very balanced starting lineup with shooters like Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser coming off the bench and playing 15 to 20 minutes per game. And when Boston is knocking down their shots, they could score 130 points on any given night.

Boston's biggest defensive issue is their paint defense. Porzingis is a phenomenal athlete and a fantastic contribution to the starting five, but he's fragile and not the greatest rim protector. That sets the stage for Jokic to have another big night because he's going to use his size to bully Porzingis in the paint.

And with Gordon out, Porter Jr. has become a bigger part of the offense and he's coming off a 28-point, 10-rebound effort in Denver's last game against the San Antonio Spurs. The biggest key for the Nuggets offense is getting productive minutes when Jokic is off the floor.

That means guards like Westbrook and Murray are going to have to step up and push the pace with the offense. If each team plays like they have been lately, this game could fly Over the total.

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Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets odds

Boston Celtics

-250 ML

Denver Nuggets

+205 ML

Spread

Celtics -6.0

Total Points

O/U 235.0

Boston Celtics vs. Denver Nuggets player props

Player Points

Nikola Jokic (DEN Nuggets)

O/U 29.5

Jayson Tatum (BOS Celtics)

O/U 26.5

Jaylen Brown (BOS Celtics)

O/U 22.5

Jamal Murray (DEN Nuggets)

O/U 19.5

Michael Porter Jr. (DEN Nuggets)

O/U 18.5

Kristaps Porzingis (BOS Celtics)

O/U 18.5

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