Boston Celtics vs Denver Nuggets Player Props, Picks & Odds (March 7)

Odds as of March 7 at ESPN Bet. See the latest news on ESPN Bet North Carolina ahead of launch on March 11.

If the NBA playoff bracket was cemented today, the Nuggets would have to take a harder road back to the NBA Finals than last season when they were the #1 seed in the West. Denver is currently #3 behind both Minnesota and OKC, but is only one game behind the conference leaders.

Boston, on the other hand, owns a massive eight-game lead on second-place Milwaukee in the East. The Celtics are also 5.5 games up on the top teams in the West and are all but assured home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Celtics Blow Massive Lead at Cleveland

As great as this season has been for the Celtics, who lead the league in wins (48), point differential (+11.2), Offensive Rating (121.5), and Net Rating (+11.3), last game was one to forget. Boston dominated the first 39 minutes in Cleveland against a Cavs team missing Donovan Mitchell, but then the wheels came off. Boston let a 93-71 lead disappear in the final 8:58, ultimately falling 105-104 to the shorthanded Cavaliers.

Jayson Tatum had a game-high 26 points (on 8-of-21 shooting) and 13 rebounds in the loss. But Boston’s three-point defense disappeared down the stretch. Cleveland hit 20 threes in the game at a 47.6% clip.

Jaylen Brown, who had 21 points and four assists in 37 minutes against Cleveland, has landed on Boston’s injury report with a sacroiliac strain. He is currently listed as questionable to be in Thursday’s NBA lineups.

Nuggets Mount Comeback Against Suns But Lose in OT

Denver suffered a gut-wrenching loss of its own last time out against Phoenix, but in much different fashion. The Nuggets dug themselves a 21-point hole early in the third quarter only to mount a furious comeback and force OT. But the Suns outscored Denver 15-5 in the extra frame to earn a rare 117-107 win at Ball Arena, where the Nuggets are 24-6 on the season.

Jamal Murray had a team-high 28 in the loss on 12-of-25 shooting but, as a team, Denver shot just 42.7% from the field (41-of-96).

The Nuggets are currently tenth in the league in O-Rating (117.2), down from fifth last season, but ninth in D-Rating (113.0), up from 15th last year.

Nikola Jokic is the current betting favorite in the NBA MVP odds, an honor he’s won twice previously, but only has a slim lead on OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

BOS vs DEN Player Props

Player props as of March 6 at DraftKings. Claim the DraftKings North Carolina promo.  

With Brown’s status up in the air, he’s the only Boston player listed in the NBA player props for Celtics vs Nuggets.

Jokic has a game-high point total of 24.5, which is 1.4 points below his season average (25.9) as he gets set to face Boston’s second-rated defense.

Celtics vs Nuggets Prediction

In a seven-game series with home-court advantage, I would lay significant money on this year’s Celtics team. But this is the only time bettors will see the Nuggets in a pick’em game at home with a fully healthy lineup.

Boston is only 19-10 on the road this season compared to 29-3 at home and now have to play at altitude in the midst of a tough road trip, potentially without Jaylen Brown. Expect a bounce-back game from the Nuggets in this potential NBA Finals preview.

BOS vs DEN pick: Nuggets moneyline (-110) – two units

Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:

• 17-21 moneyline (+4.06 units)
• 19-17-2 ATS (+0.41 units)
• 7-12 player props (-6.82 units)
• 0-3 same-game parlay (-3.00 units)

All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise