Two NBA teams heading in very different directions meet on the court Monday when the Toronto Raptors (23-41, 12th Eastern Conference) travels to Mile High City to play Denver Nuggets (44-20, T-2nd Western Conference). Toronto was defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday in overtime 128-118. The Raptors have lost three straight and five of the last six. Denver beat the Utah Jazz 142-121 on Saturday. The Nuggets have won two in a row and eight of the last nine. Toronto will play without Jakob Poeltl and Scottie Barnes, while RJ Barrett, DJ Carton and Bruce Brown are all questionable. Denver has no players listed on its injury report.
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Toronto continues to struggle on both ends of the court
Toronto is averaging 114.2 points per game, which ranks 17th in the NBA, while allowing an average of 118.2 points per game, which ranks 23rd. Toronto’s offense is shooting 47.5% (15th) overall and 35.5% (24th) from 3-point land. Toronto’s defense is holding opponents to 48.7% (22nd) on total shooting and 37.7% (22nd) on three-pointers.
RJ Barrett (questionable) is Toronto’s leading scorer averaging 20.6 points per game, while Immanuel Quickley is second averaging 17.9 points per game. Scottie Barnes (19.9 ppg, 8.2 apg) was second in scoring and rebounding before getting injured. Toronto’s best rebounder, Jakob Poeltl, is injured and so the best active rebounder is Barrett with 6.2 rebounds per game. Toronto averages 11.2 offensive rebounds and 32.4 defensive rebounds for a total of 43.7 rebounds per game. The leaders in steals and blocked shots are injured and the active leader in steals is Gary Trent (1.0 per game) and in blocked shots is Kelly Olynyk (0.8 per game).
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Denver shoots well and is 7th in points allowed
Denver is 15th in the NBA in scoring averaging 114.9 points per game and 7th in points allowed at 110.5 points per game. Denver is shooting 49.5% (4th) overall and 37.0% (13th) from three-point territory. The Nuggets are holding their opponents to 46.5 (8th) on total shooting and 36.3% (13th) on 3-pointers.
Tied for highest scoring game this season
Jamal: 37 PTS / 3 CER / 7 AST
KCP: 13 PTS / 1 CER / 2 AST
Joker: 26 PTS / 6 REB / 8 AST
MPJ: 19 PTS / 4 CER / 2 AST
CB: 13 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST
P-Wat: 12 PTS / 5 REB / 1 BLK pic.twitter.com/uXkmwGzzzR-Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 10, 2024
Nikola Jokic is averaging close to a triple double while leading Denver in scoring (26.0 points per game), rebounding (12.2 points per game) and assists (9.2 points per game). Jamal Murray is second in scoring averaging 21.1 points per game and four others are averaging double figures in scoring. Denver averages 10.8 offensive and 33.4 defensive rebounds per game for a total of 44.3, led by the aforementioned Jokic. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the steals leader averaging 1.3 per game and Peyton Watson is the rim protector averaging 1.0 blocked shots per game.
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Toronto is playing without Scottie Barnes, who at the time of his injury was the second-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. The Raptors are also without their current leading rebounder, Jakob Poeltl. RJ Barrett, who is Toronto’s leading scorer, is doubtful for Monday, as are two other players. Denver has the fourth-best field goal percentage and 13th-best 3-point shooting percentage, while holding their opponents to the 8th-lowest field goal percentage and 13th-lowest three-point shooting percentage. The Nuggets allow the 7th fewest points (110.5 points per game) in the NBA. Toronto has failed to cover the spread in five of its last six games overall and in 12 of its last 17 games against Denver. The Nuggets have covered the spread in seven of their last nine games overall.
Prediction: Denver Nuggets will cover
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The total has been exceeded in seven of Denver’s last nine games against Toronto and in six of Denver’s last seven games played at home against Toronto. The total has also been exceeded in seven of Toronto’s last eight road games. According to Hollinger Stats on ESPN, Denver is 8th in offensive efficiency with 115.3 and Toronto is a disappointing 23rd in defensive efficiency with 115.1.
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