Aaron Gordon will make his debut with the Denver Nuggets at home. Will he be the piece to the puzzle for the Nuggets in the future? Here’s the best bet for tonight’s game.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets
Tuesday, March 30th, 2021 – 10:00pm EDT Ball Arena
The Nuggets will take on the 76ers at home in a match-up between two extremely hot teams. Denver has won seven of their last ten while the 76ers have won eight of their last 10 games.
Aaron Gordon made his Denver debut against the Hawks last time out and scored 13 points on six of nine from the floor. He’s going to help an offense that is fourth in the league in points per possession and fifth in the league in effective field goal percentage.
By the numbers, Denver is a lethal offense. They’re also good at limiting turnovers and dominate the offensive glass as they’re second in that category. The Nuggets won’t get to the line often but they’ll surely get solid looks and second chance opportunities.
Nikola Jokic leads the team in every major category and almost averages a triple double. Jokic is scoring 26.9 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game. He’s also averaging 8.5 assists as the big man on the team. Jamal Murray has chipped in for 21 points per game and 4.9 assists.
Denver has had trouble on the defensive end this season, allowing 113.4 points per 100 possessions this season along with a 55.1 percent effective field goal percentage from opponents.
The Nuggets are average in forcing turnovers, defensive rebounding and free throw rates for their opponents.
It’ll be hard to keep the 76ers off the foul line as they’ve got the highest free throw rate in the league at 23.3. The Sixers are also very solid on the offensive glass and while they’re not the Nuggets, they’ll get their fair share of second chances and stay aggressive getting extra points at the line.
The 76ers have turned the ball over at a high rate and don’t get the most quality looks but they’re able to use second chances and the foul line as ways to score at a higher pace.
The Sixers will be without Joel Embiid and therefore will be led by Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons who both do plenty on the court than just score. Harriss averages 20.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists while Simmons averages 15.9 points but also 7.9 rebounds and 7.5 assists.
The Sixers are much better on defense, which is opposite of the Nuggets. They’re fourth in points per possession on defense and fifth in effective field goal percentage on defense. This team is also above average when looking to force turnovers and rebound at a solid rate, although they’ll have trouble against the Nuggets on the glass, especially without Embiid.
However, Dwight Howard has been a force for the Sixers this season and is averaging 6.7 points along with 8.1 rebounds. Being without Embiid settings but Howard being in the middle has helped this team continue their dominance on defense and sustain offense down low when needed.
Prediction
The Nuggets have struggled on defense this season and if the Sixers are able to dominate the offensive glass and get to the line at a high rate, there should be points in this game.
On the other hand, the Sixers play lockdown defense but could have trouble against a very powerful Nuggets offense that is simply a handful, especially without a top player like Embiid out there.
I’ll roll with the over in this one. The Nuggets are that team that is fantastic on offense but below average on defense.
CBB Pick: Over 220.5 (-110) at BetOnline
