Nuggets vs. Warriors NBA playoff odds: Steph Curry's status for Game 1 could be decided Thursday

If you haven't bet on the Nuggets-Warriors Game 1 Western Conference first-round playoff matchup yet or the series line, the odds could change fairly dramatically at some point tonight or early Friday. That's because the Dubs are expected to decide whether Steph Curry will be able to play in the opener after he takes part in a scrimmage. Golden State is -5.5 at home for Game 1 at Caesars Sportsbook, so that tells you oddsmakers think the two-time MVP will be out there.

Curry, out since March 16 with a left foot sprain, has basically done everything possible in his rehab thus far other than take part in a full-contact practice. He participated in a team practice Wednesday for the first time since straining the injury but it was just prep work, shooting drills, etc.

Coach Steve Kerr is on record saying that Curry has to finish a scrimmage, which the team will have today, and feel fine to be cleared for Saturday. Being on the West Coast, etc., we may not officially learn Curry's status until Friday morning. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has reported it will be a "close call."

"His conditioning should be good, so it's more [of] just the training staff making the decision based on their evaluation of him," Kerr said Wednesday of Curry.

The Warriors are 6-6 since Curry went down and 8-10 without this season. Almost impossibly, the All-Star trio of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green played just 11 minutes together this season. In those 11 minutes, the Warriors had offensive and defensive ratings of 92.3 and 85.2, respectively. The projected Golden State starting lineup of those three, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney has played just seven seconds.

Saturday will be Golden State's first playoff game since losing Game 6 of the NBA Finals and the series in Oakland on June 13, 2019, against Toronto. Shoot, Kevin Durant was still on the Warriors then, although out injured. That was the game Thompson tore his ACL. Saturday will mark only the second home playoff game in the city of San Francisco for the Warriors. They hosted one at the University of San Francisco Gym against the St. Louis Hawks on April 1, 1964.

On the series line, Golden State is -240 and Denver +200 compared to an opening of -210 and +175, respectively. The SportsLine Projection Model gives the Dubs a 65.4 percent chance of winning the series, which equates to about -185. At -240, it's 70.6 percent. The favored exact result is Warriors in seven at +320.

Denver will be without reserve guard Facundo Campazzo, who was suspended for Game 1 for shoving Lakers guard Wayne Ellington in Sunday's season finale. Campazzo hadn't been playing much lately so not a huge deal.

The Nuggets were 3-1 vs. the Warriors this season. Curry played in three and averaged 27.3 ppg. Expected repeat MVP winner Nikola Jokic of Denver played in all four and averaged 28.0 points, 15.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists.

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