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Betting the NBA Playoffs: Denver vs. Minnesota

NBC Sports
·3 min read
5

The Denver Nuggets resume their defense of the NBA Title Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves as Round 2 tips off. The Nuggets (-215) are sizable favorites to take the series against the Timberwolves (+175). Game 1 of the series is priced slightly tighter.

Round 2, Game 1

Minnesota Timberwolves (+150) @ Denver Nuggets (-180)

Spread: Nuggets -4 | O/U: 208

The boys of Bet the EDGE took a dive into the series and its pricing.

Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) is not on the Nuggets’ bandwagon.

“I think the Nuggets are overrated,” said Dinsick. “I think that the risk of injury for Denver’s guards specifically is a huge question mark in my mind right now. My fair on this when we talked about this yesterday was -180 and that was assuming full health for the guards all series. I know Murray was phenomenal, Caldwell Pope came back into the game, and Reggie Jackson looked perfectly fine. But it's a really, really thin room and those guards are now going to have to play through injury against a team that has wings who are just smothering. I think the potential for this to be a much, much tougher lift than the Nuggets are prepared for is real.”

Bet the Edge is your source for all things betting the NBA Playoffs. Get all of Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick’s insight weekdays at 6AM ET right here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) pushed back a bit.

“I would lean to Denver slightly. I do think their defense is legitimate and I think what is so unique about Denver’s defense or what makes it effective is they’re just so long. They’re just massive human beings out there. Aaron Gordon is huge. Michael Porter Jr., for his sins, is a giant human being. Jokic obviously is seven foot and knows where to be and how to use his size. I'm just worried that it's going to look a lot different for Minnesota's offense as opposed to going up against no size whatsoever in Phoenix.”

He continued.

“It's so hard to score over their length when you have Gordon roaming around there and Jokic’s size. So, I'd just be concerned about Minnesota's offense, and I've just watched a lot of Wolves' basketball the past two years and I just find it hard to believe that they've exercised the clown elements of their game which have surfaced time and time again.”

Dinsick believes Karl-Anthony Towns could be the difference this series.

“I have a very quiet, very, very soft opinion on KAT which is that whatever ghosts were haunting him in the playoffs past seem to be exercised, which has me thinking that he could be sort of the X Factor for the Timberwolves. If you've already bought into them at price, if you've already kind of taken some shots on the Twolves, I think that's kind of where you have to be in terms of what his impact on this series is going to be. He's going to have to be a factor. If he is not, they’re going to be in trouble.”

Denver and Minnesota each faced little adversity in the opening round of the playoffs. It is fair this series should force each side to work a little harder.

Enjoy the game Saturday and enjoy a sweat or two.

Bet the Edge is your source for the day in sports betting. Get all of Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick’s insight weekdays at 6AM ET right here or wherever you get your podcasts.