Denver Nuggets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Pick

NBA Betting Trends

The Denver Nuggets have been playing some terrific basketball of late. Now, the big test for them is whether they can keep it up as they leave home. The Nuggets will play their last four games of the first half on the road, and it starts with this visit to Cleveland on Saturday night. The Cavaliers aren’t very good, but Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland offense has been piling up the points.

Game Overview:

Denver was hovering around .500 a few weeks ago, but a recent red hot home stand helped propel this team upward in the Western Conference Standings. The Nuggets offense is absolutely firing on all cylinders right now. Denver has scored at least 112 points in six of their last eight games. On Thursday, they put up 128 points against a good Chicago Bulls defense. Six Nuggets players average double figures in scoring. Ty Lawson is the best in the NBA at pushing the tempo, and Kenneth Faried runs the floor like a guard despite his 6’8 frame. Denver is second in the NBA in offensive rebounding.

Denver’s defense used to be a major liability, but they have quickly improved on this side of the ball. There are two big reasons for the Nuggets improvement on this side of the ball: Kenneth Faried and Andre Iguodala. Faried changes so many shots on the inside because of his athleticism and shot blocking ability. Iguodala is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game. Opponents shoot only 44.2 percent from the floor against the Nuggets. Denver is now a balanced team, and it makes them so much more dangerous once they get into the playoffs.

Cleveland lost a big piece to their puzzle when Anderson Varejao got a blood clot in his lung and he will miss the rest of the season. Varejao was the leading rebounder in the league at the time he developed the blood clot. Kyrie Irving missed a lot of time earlier this year, but he is healthy now and he is putting up some big numbers. Irving is averaging 23.9 points per game, and he is shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc. He is quickly becoming one of the best point guards in the game. If Cleveland can surround him with a little more talent in the next couple years, this team could easily surprise some people. Rookie Dion Waiters has shown flashes of brilliance as well, and once he becomes more consistent this back court could really be a force to be reckoned with.

Cleveland has topped 100 points in three straight games, but it hasn’t been their offense that has held them back this year. The Cavaliers are dead last in the NBA in field goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting 47.5 percent from the floor against the Cavs, and they are shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc.

Prediction:

Denver is rolling in a big way, and I don’t see any reason for that to stop now. The Nuggets have too many offensive options, and a much better defense than Cleveland.

Nuggets 114 Cavs 103