The Boston Celtics (48-13), travel to Mile High City tonight to take on the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets (42-20). Both of these two teams are dominant forces in their respective conferences. The first time these two teams played, Denver handed Boston their first home loss of the season. The stakes are high, as this could be a sneak peek at a potential NBA Finals matchup, and neither team wants to show any weakness.
With star players abundant in this Thursday night prime-time matchup, it looks to be an exciting one. Jaylen Brown is questionable with a sacroiliac strain, but he should play. Other than that, both teams are in full health, and ready to battle. Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum both have a claim to the MVP award, and it’s always a treat to watch two MVP candidates face off. Both of these teams are coming off a loss, so each of them is looking to right the ship.
Can the Celtics walk into the defending champion’s home court and steal a win?
Denver Nuggets vs Boston Celtics Betting Odds
| Team | Spread | Total | MoneyLine |
| Denver | -1.5
-105 |
O 221
-105 |
-115 |
| Boston | +1.5
-115 |
U 221
-115 |
-105 |
| **Odds Courtesy of DraftKings** | |||
Denver Nuggets vs Boston Celtics Game Details
- Fixture: Boston @ Denver
- Date and Time: March 7, 2024 @ 10:00 pm EST
- Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO
Apex Tale of the Tape
|
Denver Nuggets |
vs. |
Boston Celtics |
| 42-20 | Record | 48-13 |
| 114.4 | Points Per Game | 121.0 |
| 49.2% | FG% | 48.6% |
| 36.8% | 3PT% | 38.6% |
| 52.6 | Rebounds Per Game | 54.7 |
| 110.4 | Points Allowed Per Game | 109.8 |
| 46.5% | Defensive FG% | 44.7% |
| 36.5% | Defensive 3PT% | 34.8% |
| 78.0% | Defensive FT% | 76.0% |
| 49.3 | Defensive Rebounds Per Game | 51.1 |
| 4-1 | Last 5 W-L | 4-1 |
| 100.0 | Team Pace |
101.8 |
Key Stats
Denver Nuggets
Denver is coming off a loss on their own home court to the Phoenix Suns, in an OT thriller. In the game, Jamal Murray went for a team-high 28 pts on 25 shots. However, it was not enough to overcome a vintage Kevin Durant performance. KD scored 35 points, including 8 in overtime. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also put his stamp on the game, recording 2 steals and 2 blocks.
The Nuggets will be hoping that they can get more out of their bench tonight. The Denver bench only scored 16 points in that game vs Phoenix. Denver ranks 22nd in the league in bench points with 29.4 points per game. Guys like Reggie Jackson, Christian Braun, and Peyton Watson will have to step up tonight if the Nuggets want to beat the Celtics, one of the deepest teams in basketball.
Boston Celtics
Boston’s last game was also a loss. While Denver was beaten by a great performance from Kevin Durant, Boston fell due to an explosion from Dean Wade of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics blew a 20-point lead in the 4th quarter, and Dean Wade shot perfectly from the field, including 5-5 from 3, scoring 20 pts on his own. Losing to a Cleveland team that was missing Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus is not a great look for Boston.
Boston will be looking to bounce back to avoid their first set of back-to-back losses since November 8th. Similar to that game vs. CLE, in their game vs. DEN in January, the Celtics struggled to score down the stretch. They only had 17 and 18 points in the fourth quarters of those games. They also only scored 105 total points in the Cleveland game and 100 points in the Denver game. If Boston wants to win this one, their offense will have to be offensively efficient, spurred by their trio of 20-point scorers. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis average 27.1, 22.4, and 20.4 points per game, respectively.
Game Prediction
Both of these teams are extremely good, and the spread is only 1.5 points. This is one of the rare scenarios where Boston is not favored to win. Denver’s coming off a loss at home is interesting because it is only the 6th home loss they’ve had this season. The previous 5 times this happened, they easily won their next game. Coach Michael Malone does not like to lose at home, and he does not like to lose back-to-back games. He will have this team locked in and ready to go. Also, don’t forget that Denver’s home-court advantage is slightly better than most other teams. Other teams aren’t used to playing at extreme elevations like the Nuggets are.
This game could go either way. I know Boston is undoubtedly the best team in the NBA, but I am not picking against who I think is the best player in the NBA. I am picking Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets to win this game. The Nuggets are very good at home and I expect a playoff-like atmosphere with two teams as good as the Celtics and Nuggets. The Nuggets haven’t lost back-to-back games at home all season, and they aren’t going to start now.
Final Pick
Denver Nuggets MoneyLine
About the Author
Caden is a massive sports fan and has been following the professional leagues for as long as he can remember. His main sports are NFL and NBA, but he watches and can talk about all sports. If you want more great sports insight or are looking for sports betting advice, follow Caden on Twitter @CadenBahry and follow us @TotalApexSports.
