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🔥 The Hot Ticket
Suns at Nuggets, 10 p.m. | TV: TNT
- The Pick: Nuggets -5 (-110)
- Key Trend: The Nuggets are 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games.
The Suns made this a series after Devin Booker and Kevin Durant went off in Games 3 and 4. That would lead many to believe that Phoenix is the hot hand heading into Game 5. Incorrect. I'm confident that the Nuggets will turn things around at home in Game 5.
The Nuggets still battled in Games 3 and 4, keeping those contests remarkably close. Coming home should help the Nuggets shift the tides in a big way. Denver has a 30-16-0 record ATS when playing at home throughout the 2022-23 season. In fact, the Nuggets possess a 4-1 record ATS at home during the 2023 postseason.
Also of note: Nikola Jokic is playing out of his mind. The Nuggets star is averaging 36.5 points, 14 rebounds and 9.5 assists while shooting 42.9 percent from three against the Suns in this series. Jokic is coming off of a sensational 53-point performance in which he connected on 20-of-30 shots from the field and recorded double-digit assists (11) for the second consecutive game. Look for Jokic to continue to dominate and the Nuggets to cover the spread at home.
💰 More Picks
Hurricanes at Devils, 7 p.m. | TV: ESPN
The Pick: Devils (-155) -- The Hurricanes, to the surprise of many (including me) outscored the Devils 11-1 in the first two games of this series. But the Devils climbed back into the series in Game 3, and the momentum should stay with New Jersey at home.
The Devils fixed their offense in Game 3, exploding for eight goals, but also fixed a different issue. N.J. made a change in net with Vitek Vanecek drawing the start in between the pipes after Akira Schmid yielded seven goals in the first two games and got pulled in both of those contests.
That's partially why I'm really not expecting the Hurricanes to continue to score like they have been. This is a team that is without forwards Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen. On top of that, the Hurricanes have a huge question mark in goal with Frederik Andersen getting scored on at will in Game 3 and being yanked in favor of Pyotr Kochetkov, who didn't fare much better in relief. I expect the Devils to be able to even the series at home.
Key Trend: The Devils are 8-2 in their last 10 home games
76ers at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. | TV: TNT
The Pick: James Harden Over 29.5 Points and Assists (-115) -- After pouring in 45 points for the Sixers while Joel Embiid was out of the lineup in Game 1, star guard James Harden struggled in Games 2 and 3. He scored 28 total points on an abysmal 5-of-28 shooting in those two latter games. He bounced back in Game 4, though, with a game-high 42 points on 16-of-23 shooting from the field, including connecting on six of his nine attempts from three. Harden also tallied nine assists.
Considering that the Celtics haven't been a juggernaut defensively in the series (they're allowing 111.9 points-per-game), look for Harden to continue to score and distribute without a ton of resistance here.
Key Trend: Harden has recorded at least 30 points and assists in two of his last four games
