ESPN: Celtics key player set to miss out tonight match due to…

The defending champions Denver Nuggets hope to become the first team to win a game at TD Garden this season as they take on the Boston Celtics tonight on ESPN. I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay to spice things up a little, tip-off is at 7.30 pm ET.

For picks on the side and total for the rest of Friday’s 7-game slate, simply head over to our NBA picks page.

Let’s dive into my SGP bet now!

DEN Nuggets ML (+194)
Nikola Jokic Over 0.5 Made Threes (-140)
Kristaps Porzingis Over 1.5 Made Threes (-162)
Same Game Parlay odds: +617
DEN Nuggets ML (+194)
Boston is currently on a franchise record setting 20-0 SU start in games played at TD Garden, but tonight’s opponent could be their biggest test so far this season. Denver needs a bounce back performance following their poor defensive showing in the 126-121 loss at Philadelphia the other day. Unlike the Sixers, Boston doesn’t have a dominant force on the inside, so maybe Denver’s gameplan can work better in tonight’s game.

They’ve won 9 of their last 11 games vs Eastern Conference opponents and are 14-5 SU in their last 19 overall. They also won the last meeting against the Celtics 123-111, I feel like there’s plenty of motivation on their end to go all out in this game. I really like Jokic’s match-up with Porzingis, the 2-time MVP has notched 3 triple-doubles in the last 5 head-to-head with Boston, so look out for his numbers in tonight’s game. I’ll gladly take the Nuggets as road underdogs in this game.

Nikola Jokic Over 0.5 Made Threes (-140)
For only the 4th time this season Nikola Jokic has failed to make a three in back-to-back games. He is yet to have a streak of 3 or more games without a made three, so I’m expecting that run to end tonight in Boston. The Serbian big fella has actually upped his efficiency from three-point land from 37.1% in December to 50% in January, however his attempts are also down which helps his percentages a little. Regardless, in order to become the first team to beat the Celtics on their home floor, Jokic will have to remind us why he is a 2-time MVP in this league. He’s currently on a run of 4 straight games with 2 or more threes scored in games played vs the Celtics, I don’t think the likes of Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis are good enough defenders to bother him here.

Kristaps Porzingis Over 1.5 Made Threes (-162)
KP missed the game against San Antonio the other day, so he should be fresh to face the Nuggets tonight. We saw a lot of flaws in the Nuggets defense in their loss to Philadelphia, particularly with their perimeter defense. The Sixers shot 48.4% from three in that game, while in their last 3 outings they’re allowing opponents to shoot 38.7% from downtown. That’s music to the ears of Porzingis who isn’t exactly your typical center that will wrestle you on the inside. Instead, he is more of a finesse big who love to step outside and drain the three-ball. That’s worked well for him in the past couple of months, Porzingis has upped his three point efficiency from 28.1% in November to 32% to December and to 34.8% in January. He’s made an average of 2.1 threes in his last 10 meetings with the Nuggets, while in the last 4 meetings he’s had 2 games of at least 5 threes as a member of the Mavs back in 2021. With the Nuggets defense focusing on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the most part, I think KP can go under the radar a bit here and drain a couple of threes to help his team.