10:12 pm
April 18

Nuggets @ Warriors

Who will WIN this matchup?

Denver Nuggets (48-34)

@ Golden State Warriors (53-29)

 

Current odds:

Denver Nuggets: (+250)

Golden State Warriors: (-320)

 

• The spread for the game is Golden State by 7 points.

• Jordan Poole was so explosive in Golden State’s playoff opener that Stephen Curry might be coming off the bench for a second straight game. Poole certainly has a hard act to follow up when the third-seeded Warriors host the sixth-seeded Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round series on Monday night at San Francisco. The 22-year-old Poole was 9-of-13 shooting — making 5 of 7 from 3-point range — in Golden State’s 123-107 win on Saturday. He scored 30 points to tie Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond (1989) for the second-highest scoring playoff debut in Warriors’ history.

• Poole drew the start in Game 1 ahead of Curry as the latter made his return from a left foot injury that sidelined him for 12 games. Curry scored 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting in 22 minutes. Golden State coach Steve Kerr hasn’t announced whether he will stick to the current plan or re-insert Curry into the starting lineup. Regardless, Poole was just happy that playoff game No. 1 was an overwhelming success.

• Nikola Jokic, the favorite to repeat as league MVP, registered 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Denver. But he didn’t pack a big presence in a contest in which the Nuggets trailed by as many as 24 points. Will Barton added 24 points, but the end result is that the Nuggets didn’t resemble the squad that won three of four regular-season outings against the Warriors.

• There also continue to be rumblings that star guard Jamal Murray — out the past 12 months due to an ACL tear — could return later in the series. And after the Game 1 loss, forward Michael Porter Jr. said he might return during the series. Porter has been sidelined five-plus months due to back woes that included undergoing surgery for the third time in the past 4 1/2 years.

6/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Golden State Warriors
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