ES 
NFL Previews 
MLB Previews 
NBA Previews 
NHL Previews 
Soccer Previews 
The Western Conference No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets will take on the No. 6 Portland Trail Blazers in its first-round playoff series. The Nuggets and Trail Blazers have a long history in the regular season where Portland has owned Denver winning 100 of 187 games.
The story is the same in the postseason where the teams have met in three different playoff series. Portland has claimed two of those series, including the most recent in 2019. The Trail Blazers won in seven games to advance to the Western Conference finals.
Best Bookies for the NBA Playoffs
This time around, Denver is the -120 favorite to win the series. The Trail Blazers have been playing extremely well over the last month or so of the regular season. That is reflected in their -105 odds to win this playoff series.
Here’s how this first-round series will play out.
Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets H2H Results
Denver and Portland played three times this season. The Nuggets won the first two games, but Portland won the third which was played on the final day of the regular season. In that game, NBA MVP candidate Nikola Jokic played just 17 minutes. No Denver starter played more than 21 as the team gave the bench plenty of floor time.
Portland covered the spread in all three games. The Under hit in the first two games and the final game went Over (What Is an Over/Under Bet?).
Advantage Nuggets
Jokic. That’s the biggest advantage Denver has. The 6-11 Jokic is the top candidate to receive the league MVP. He has averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game. He is the best passing big man in the league and his ability to stretch the floor allows more opportunities for players like Michael Porter Jr. Porter averaged 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds a game this season.
Denver finished the regular season eighth in scoring and eight in points allowed. They are solid on both ends of the floor. Speaking of floors, the Nuggets will have a big advantage when playing on their own floor. Remember, Denver’s home venue, Ball Arena, is roughly a mile above sea level.
Expert NBA Player Props Betting Strategy
Advantage Trail Blazers
Backcourt. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum offer up one of the best backcourt duos in the entire NBA. Lillard averaged 28.8 points per game this season and McCollum added 23.1 though he did miss 25 games. Regardless, they will be the key in this series.
Portland led the NBA in offensive rating (123.5) over the final 12 games of the regular season. They were first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.54) and fifth in eFG%, or effective field goal percentage. The way the Trail Blazers are playing right now; they will be hard to eliminate.
Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets Playoffs Series Winner
Call it a hunch, but guard play means so much in the postseason and Denver’s loss of Jamal Murray is really going to be seen in this playoff series. Yes, Portland is going to have to win a game at altitude, but they only need one.
PREDICTION: PORTLAND in 7
