Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for December 23 (Stars Come to Play in High-Scoring Battle)

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers Game Info

• Date: Friday, December 23, 2022
• Time: 9:00 PM ET
• Venue: Ball Arena -- Denver, Colorado
• Coverage: ALT2 and ROOT Sports NW

The 2022-23 NBA season continues on Friday with 14 more games, including a battle between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets. The Trail Blazers rank eighth in the Western Conference with a 17-15 record, while the Nuggets check in first with a 19-11 record. Fans are in for a treat here.

Portland enters looking to bounce back after falling short against the Oklahoma City Thunder on both Monday (123-121) and Wednesday night (101-98). Meanwhile, Denver took down the Memphis Grizzlies, 105-91, on Tuesday for its fifth win in its last six games. Which team will win on Friday night?

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers Odds & Spread

Nuggets vs Trail Blazers Betting Information

Favorite	Spread	Favorite Spread Odds	Underdog Spread Odds	Total	Over Total Odds	Under Total Odds	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline
Nuggets	-5.5	-	-	-	-	-	-240	198

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: DEN: (-194) | POR: (+162)
• Spread: DEN: -4.5 (-110) | POR: +4.5 (-110)
• Total: 232.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Nuggets enter this contest as small home favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 9 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 232.5 points, which is above average compared to Friday's projected totals.

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers Betting Trends

• The Nuggets have put together a 14-16-0 record against the spread this season.
• So far this year, the Trail Blazers have been installed as underdogs by a 5.5-point margin or more nine times and are 5-4 ATS in those contests.
• This season, 14 of the Nuggets' games have gone over the point total out of 32 chances.
• Trail Blazers games this season have hit the over 16 times in 32 opportunities (50%).
• Denver has a better record against the spread when playing at home (7-6-0) than it does in away games (7-10-0).
• In 2022-23 against the spread, Portland has a lower winning percentage at home (.538, 7-6-0 record) than on the road (.632, 12-7-0).

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers Prediction & Pick

Denver's recent run of success has catapulted the team to the top of the Western Conference. Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic logged his 82nd career triple-double on Tuesday with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists. He should be in for another big night against this subpar Portland defense.

The Trail Blazers rank 22nd in defensive efficiency and are allowing 51.8 points in the paint per game (No. 23 in NBA). Keep in mind 52.6% of the points scored against Portland this season have come from buckets within the two-point range as well. Expect a lot of easy jump shots and dunks for Denver.

I'll back a Nuggets squad that has won six of its last seven home games with confidence on Friday.

Final Score Prediction: Nuggets: 121 | Trail Blazers: 117

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers Best Bet

The betting value in this game lies in the low point total. The over has cashed in six of Portland's last eight games overall as well as in 11 of its last 14 games against a Western Conference opponent. The total has also hit the over in seven of the last eight matchups between the Trail Blazers and Nuggets.

Denver checks in as one of the best offenses in the league, averaging 115.4 points (No. 7 in NBA) on a 50.3% shooting mark (No. 2 in NBA). On the other side, Portland's weak defense is countered by an offense that ranks eighth in efficiency and shoots 47.7% from the floor (No. 9 in NBA). Take the over.

Bet: Over 232.5 Points (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.