The Denver Nuggets hope to stay alive tonight, Monday April 25th, when they host the Oklahoma City Thunders in Game 4 of the Western Conference quarter-finals. The Thunder have a 3-0 lead and have won five straight meetings with the Nuggets. NBA oddsmakers have the Nuggets as -3 point home favourites over the Thunder with the over/under set at 205 points. Be sure to check the Thunder vs Nuggets NBA Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
Oklahoma City (3-0) has the defense to frustrate the Nuggets late in games, while Denver has struggled to find a go-to player in crunch time. Oklahoma City does a good job against the Nuggets strengths. Denver likes the rim, while the Thunder have four defenders that like to protect the rim, and do it pretty well. The Thunder are trying to maintain a balance while trying to win their first series since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle three years ago. They have the youngest roster in the league and only five Oklahoma City players have advanced past the first round — Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, Nazr Mohammed, Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha. They don't feel their inexperience will be an issue Monday. "The closeout game is all mental," said Perkins, who won an NBA title with Boston in 2008. "It's going to have to be a mental game for us, mental toughness. It's not going to be easy, we're going to have to stick together and play possession by possession and make sure we make the extra effort."
Denver (0-3) suffered a 97-94 loss on Saturday night which put the Nuggets a game from losing in the first round for the seventh time in eight years. "There's a big part of me that's disappointed because of our failures," Coach Karl said Sunday. "But I also know that sometimes some of the best teams lose in the first round because of matchups and circumstances. The Nuggets were 30 for 45 from the free throw line on Saturday and they're shooting 68.7 percent from there in the series. The Nuggets feel their little mistakes have made this series appear less competitive. "They're good. They're a good basketball team, but do you reverse it and say we're the best team if we make five more free throws and we win the game?" Arron Afflalo said. "Now we're up 3-0." Denver is trying to do what no other NBA team has done — win a series after going down 3-0. The first step is getting back in the series, and Karl can draw on his experience when he coached the SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA finals.
Recent Trends to Consider:
Under is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
Thunder are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Denver.
Thunder are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Denver.
Thunder are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games.
Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a S.U. win.
Nuggets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Monday games.
Nuggets are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.
Nuggets are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games following a S.U. loss.
Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
Thunder vs Nuggets
When: Monday, April 25, 10:30 PM ET
Pick: Nuggets -3
Point-Spreads.com recommends you check out NBA Point Spreads before Thunder vs Nuggets game.
The Bottom Line: The Nuggets used to be solid on home court, not anymore! Thunder will close out the series tonight or cover. Be sure to check Thunder vs Nuggets Basketball Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
