Denver Nuggets vs. Boston Celtics: NBA Free Pick

An eight game winning streak for the Nuggets was snapped last night on Tobacco Road, as the Charlotte Bobcats handed the men from the Rockies a 100-98 loss. This is the second stop on a brutal four game East Coast swing for Denver, and this is clearly the toughest task in the bunch. Over their previous four wins, the Nuggets had scored well over 115 points per game, which raised up their scoring average to 105.8 points per game. Six different players are averaging double digits in scoring, which is no surprise for a team that runs up and down the court at will. As always, the man to watch out for is F Carmelo Anthony. ‘Melo has averaged 22.8 points and 8.0 boards per night, and he is really picking up the slack on the glass with both F Chris Andersen and F Kenyon Martin out of the lineup. He is the team’s leading rebounder, and our gut says that he is only going to be getting better offensively as the season wears on. There’s no way that he is only shooting 42.9 percent for the season from the field. Speaking of men that badly need to improve their shooting percentages, what about G Chauncey Billups? Sure, Billups is second on the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game, but he is shooting a dreadful 36.6 percent from the floor, a number which just doesn’t cut it and won’t do it in this one either.

Boston has done well on the Parquet Court this year, winning all but one of its games. However, it only has a 3-6-1 ATS mark here in Beantown. The C’s are on a seven game winning streak that dates back to November 21st. In that stretch, only one team has exceeded even 95 points, and two have been held in the 70s. Clearly, Head Coach Doc Rivers continues to preach about defense and playing fundamental basketball. His team ranks No. 3 in the league at 92.0 points per game allowed, and teams are only shooting 43.6 percent from the floor on the season. Offensively, things are clearly at least going well enough. Boston ranks No. 1 in the NBA in shooting at 50.8 percent as a team, and it is being parlayed into 100.8 points per game, a respectable No. 11. F Paul Pierce is putting up another one of these years that proves that he should be in the Hall of Fame in the future at 19.0 points per game, and he is clearly going to carry this team into playoffs once again, most likely as the Atlantic Division champs.

The oddsmakers are probably going to be putting out a hefty line in this one, and for good reason. Boston is a fantastic home team, while the Nuggets are a horrifying road team. Head Coach George Karl is stuck on 999 career wins, and the team would love to get him that coveted 1,000th win tonight arguably the most storied court in the NBA. He might not quite get it, but his Nuggets should come up with an inspired effort tonight to stick inside of this hefty number.