Denver is typically a half-court team which means slower tempo. The Warriors used to want to run-and-gun but they now have one of the oldest lineups in the league, leaning more towards the defensive side. Seven out of the last eight meetings between these two have also gone under the total.

Let’s not forget the Nuggets lost in 7 games to the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals last season. I’m excited about the Warriors, but who on this roster is planning on slowing down Nikola Jokic tonight? The answer is no one. Take the Nuggets to win.

The Warriors won Tuesday night at Los Angeles by 10 despite being outshot 55% to 49%, but they had more threes and a better shooting night at the line, with two Warrior players going 24 for 24 from the line. The Nuggets enter the season with a new bench and a new three-point specialist in Cameron Johnson, whom they acquired in a trade for Michael Porter. Porter was good when they were rolling, a front-runner, and soft on defense. They also grabbed Bruce Brown, who was instrumental in the Nuggets championship run. This team has a nice mix of players on the bench to help the starters maintain the lead in games. The Nuggets had won nine straight against the Warriors until their last meeting.

With the Warriors having four rotation players 35 years and older, there’s going to be opportunities for Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski to step up. On opening night that was not needed for Podz, as he took just seven shots the entire night. Denver is an opponent Podziemski had success against last season with 13 and the last meeting scored 26 points. Take his over in the prop market.

Christian Braun is an ascending player for a Nuggets team with title aspirations. Braun signed a contract extension in the offseason fresh off of a solid third year that saw him set career highs across the board. The Nuggets are deeper but I still expect Braun to play 32-35 minutes and this combo line appears low for the versatile guard.

FanDuel +110. Nikola Jokic has been a 12+ rebound per game guy for most of the last four seasons, including 12.7 boards per game last year. He’ll face a Warriors team that should allow him to guard a low usage player and hunt rebounds. Plus, the Nuggets downgraded in the rebounding department by replacing Michael Porter Jr. with Cameron Johnson. Last season, Jokic averaged 1.5 more rebounds per 32 minutes with Porter Jr. off the court.