Let’s go money line with Denver. Golden State is just average right now. It will take a super-human effort from Steph Curry and help from others to beat a Nikola Jokic-led Denver squad in this spot. It's not impossible, but I think improbable. Back the Nuggets.

It's all about minutes for Jonathan Kuminga here, which he should get. Since Christmas Day he has been trending up with 24, 25, and 34 minutes. And field-goal attempts up from 8 vs Denver to 11,12, and 14. With big athletic forwards like Michael Porter Jr and Aaron Gordon, Kuminga will have to play major minutes, hopefully even more than the 29 we are projecting. It doesn't hurt that Gary Payton and Draymond Green aren't on the floor tonight.

There isn’t a lot to get excited about with just two games in the NBA on Thursday. At least one of them is a fun matchup between the Nuggets and Warriors. The Nuggets won the first two meetings between these two teams this season and have no significant injuries to report for this third matchup. Meanwhile, the Warriors will be missing their two best defensive players in Draymond Green (suspension) and Gary Payton II (hamstring). They don’t have the size to battle with Nikola Jokic, so look for the Nuggets to emerge with another victory.

The Warriors aren't going to be whole until whenever Draymond Green returns from suspension, and his absence has especially hurt Golden State on the stop end. Still, this 236 "total" is higher than last week's scoreline between these two at Denver on Christmas and also higher than nine of the Nuggets' last eleven games. Note that only four of Golden State's last eleven games have cleared 236 as well, and the first meeting this season on Nov. 8 landed on only 213 (108-105 Denver). Play Nuggets-Warriors "Under"