Nuggets’ Injury Report Crowded Ahead of 76ers Game
Nuggets vs 76ers Betting Preview: Philadelphia Climbs to -4
Rockets host Nuggets this Tuesday
After their matinee win over the Houston Rockets on Martin Luther King Day, the Philadelphia 76ers will make a quick turnaround and host the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET).
Philadelphia opened as a 1-point favorite and is up to -4 on the spread and -165 on the moneyline. Denver is +145 to win outright. The projected total is 228.5, down a tick from 229.5.
What can bettors expect? Read on as we break down the odds in our Nuggets vs 76ers betting preview.
Nuggets vs 76ers 
Day/Time:
Location: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia
Nuggets vs 76ers Betting Trends
The Denver Nuggets are 18-22-1 ATS, including just 7-13 away from home. The Nuggets are also only 17-24 against the Over/Under. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers are 25-13 ATS, including 15-6 at home. The 76ers have gone Over the total in 12 of their 21 home NBA games and 23 of 38 overall.
Be sure to remember these trends when assessing our Nuggets vs 76ers betting preview.
Defending Champs as Good as New
All is well with the Nuggets, winners of 11 of their last 14. The Nuggets are now 28-13 and remain one of the NBA’s teams-to-beat, with +450 odds of defending their title. At the moment, only the Celtics (+320) have shorter odds.
The Nuggets continue to ride Nikola Jokic, and with good reason. From a production standpoint, nobody compares to the Serbian center.
- Jokic is averaging 25.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.3 assists, and leads the league with 12 triple-doubles this NBA regular season.
- As such, Jokic has leapfrogged Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid as a +180 favorite to win his third MVP award.
- Jokic is coming off a 25-point, 12-rebound, nine-assist performance in Sunday’s 117-109 win over Indiana.
- Although Jokic didn’t appear to have any issues after playing 33 minutes, he’s listed as questionable for Tuesday because of a left hip strain.
Jokic is one of Nuggets on the NBA injury report, including Aaron Gordon (heel), Michael Porter (knee), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (back) and Jamal Murray (leg). That represents five of Denver’s top six scorers.
The Nuggets — who are also +210 favorites to win the Western Conference — rank fourth in shooting efficiency (49.8%) and sixth in point differential at plus-5.1.
Notably, the Nuggets have gone Under the total in 58.5% of their games. That’s the second-highest rate (58.5%) in the NBA ahead of only Memphis (60%).
As Embiid Goes, So Go the 76ers
The 76ers have separated themselves as one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference thanks to their 25-13 start. They’re coming off a 124-115 victory over Houston on Monday in which Embiid poured in 41 points to help them cover as 8.5-point favorites.
Embiid’s 17 straight games with at least 30 points are a franchise record. He also earned his seventh 40-point double-double this season.
Despite maintaining elite production, Embiid’s bid for back-to-back MVPs could be in doubt because of a new rule that was enacted to guard against load management.
Embiid has played in only 28 of Philadelphia’s first 38 games, meaning he can miss a maximum of only seven more games this season to maintain his eligibility for any major awards. Embiid is currently priced +600 for MVP, matching Dallas’ Luka Doncic for third on the board behind Jokic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
With Embiid in and out of the lineup because of injuries, Philadelphia has struggled to gain any consistency of late. The 76ers are just 5-5 over their last 10 games and have fallen 5.0 games behind Boston atop the Atlantic Division. In spite of that, the 76ers still have the third-best odds in the East (+500) and are +1100 to win the NBA Finals.
Philadelphia has been especially profitable for bettors, recording the league’s second-best record (25-13) ATS. As an underdog, the 76ers are 4-5 ATS and 2-7 OU. Keep that in mind when analyzing the NBA odds in our Nuggets vs 76ers betting preview.
Handicapping the Game
Philadelphia is already up to a 4-point favorite after opening at -1, indicating bettors believe the Nuggets may rest multiple starters on Tuesday. That could possibly include Jokic, who wound up on the injury report despite playing 33 minutes on Sunday.
With this being the second half of a back-to-back for Philadelphia, bettors should also monitor the status of Embiid. The NBA’s scoring leader (34.9 PPG), Embiid is recently coming off an injury.
Philadelphia has covered in nine of the last 13 games against Denver.
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