Denver Nuggets at Toronto Raptors
Time: 7 PM EST, Feb. 12, 2013
TV: Altitude Sports, TSN (NBA League Pass)
Spread: DEN -2.5
Total: 207
M/L: DEN -140, TOR +120
Betting Odds from Bookmaker
The Denver Nuggets got off to a rough start in the 2012-13 NBA season, but have rebounded rather nicely since beginning the season 4-6. The Nuggets have won 29 of 42 games since then and sit at 33-19, for second place in the Northwest Division, but they have a slim chance of catching the Oklahoma City Thunder who sit comfortably ahead of them by 6.5 games.
The Nuggets have one of the most balanced scoring attacks and deepest rosters in the NBA, but have no All-Stars representing them in this year’s event. The trio of Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson and Andre Iguodala combine to average 46 points per game, but six other Nuggets average at least eight points per game and no Nugget player averages more than 34 minutes a game (Lawson).
George Karl has long been criticized as the kind of coach that doesn’t pay enough attention to defense, but against the Toronto Raptors that may not matter much. NBA Oddsmakers find the Nuggets to be 2.5 point favorites against the home team. But the Raptors are a much improved team with the acquisition of swingman Rudy Gay, so this line is not unrealistic; the Raps could keep it that close.
Gay has averaged 23 points per game in his five appearances with the Raptors, but is shooting just 20 percent from behind the arc. His athleticism combined with swingmen Terrence Ross and DeMar DeRozan gives the Raps one of the most athletic teams in the league, with three players who either already have (DeRozan & Gay) or will (Ross) participate in the Sprite Slam Dunk Challenge. That’s rare.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the Raptors, though just 19-32, are a .500 team at home. They’re riding a two game win streak coming into the contest, with victories over the Indiana Pacers (In Indianapolis) and the New Orleans Hornets at home. Tonight’s contest ends a two game home stand before the Raps take to the road to face the Knicks and Wizards.
The trade that brought in Rudy Gay also sent out José Calderon. While Calderon was having a fantastic season, Kyle Lowry is one of the most underrated point guards in the league and belongs in that second-tier of NBA guards who are nearly elite, but not on the level to make All-Star teams on a regular basis. Last year, Lowry out-produced all NBA point guards other than Chris Paul through mid-January, before hitting a rough stretch of games and being snubbed for the All-Star game.
Lowry and Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson should be an exciting battle, and Andre Iguodala and Gay should an exciting showdown as well.
With NBA odds setting the over/under at 207, it should be a high scoring affair with a lot of dunks, just what NBA fans and bettors crave.
