NBA Betting: Nuggets Poised to Cover as Home Favorites vs Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are shorthanded entering their season opener against the Denver Nuggets where the home team should cover in Ball Arena.

Dec 29, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) looks to shoot in the fourth quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

On Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder open up their season against the Denver Nuggets on National Television. Two Western Conference contenders going at it will be the highlight of opening week, though the OKC Thunder are extremely short handed.

Despite being the favorites out West, FanDuel pegs the Thunder as two-point underdogs on the road to open up their season. This is a great line by the vegas oddsmakers - as always.

While Oklahoma City still has a chance to pull off an opening night upset, the Thunder are going to be fighting an uphill battle. Of all the teams to lack size against, Denver is one of the worst possible matchups. The Thunder truly only have Chet Holmgren in the middle and will otherwise be leaning on...Ousmane Dieng, rookie Dillon Jones and *checks notes* Alex Reece.

This would be an awful game for Denver to drop in what should be a tight Western Conference - and divisional - race. The hope for the Thunder is that the team can laucnh and connect on triples to combat getting dominated on the glass and in the paint.

Mix that with the altitude adjustment which is known to zap teams to start games, if the Nuggets get out to a fast start, it will be difficult for the Thunder to recover.

This opening night loss will be no means doom the Thunder, as Denver pulls off the win and covers the spread.

The Best: Denver Nuggets -2

The Record: 0-0 (4-1 in Preseason)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER

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