Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 11/18/2021

Time: 9 p.m. ET

Venue: Ball Arena, Denver, CO

Where to watch: NBA TV

DraftKings: Nuggets -8

BetMGM: Nuggets -8.5

Caesars: Nuggets -8

76ers: 8-7

Nuggets: 9-5

76ers: lost five straight; lost 120-85 at Jazz on Tuesday

Nuggets: lost 111-101 at Mavericks on Monday 

The Denver Nuggets don’t lose at home. I mean, they do, but it’s hard to buck that trend.

Denver will try to push its home winning streak to seven on Thursday when they host the beyond struggling Philadelphia 76ers at Ball Arena.

The altitude -- and the fact that the Nuggets are an actually really good team -- play a factor in that it’s struggling for those guys to lose ever. Denver is coming off a 10-point loss at the Dallas Mavericks on Monday without the services of Michael Porter Jr. and Will Barton.

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic was dominant once again with 35 points to go with 16 rebounds and six assists, but the Nuggets didn’t get any help from the bench. Monte Morris and Aaron Gordon combined for 31 points, but Denver got only 16 points from the bench with Bol Bol being the only one capable of putting together anything worthy of a stat line in 11 minutes (7 points, 2 rebounds).

Denver had a 13-point lead in the third quarter before the Mavs rallied behind Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. That lead likely would’ve stayed intact had Denver had everyone accounted for. The key for the Nuggets going forward is finding a way to get that consistency with players not named Jokic.

Denver actually shot the ball well at 47.6 percent, but only made nine of 32 3-point attempts while getting to the line just 17 times. Dallas, meanwhile, shot 50 percent and hit 14 of 36 from 3-point land.

But things could be worse: The Nuggets could be the 76ers and not have anyone available due to COVID protocol. Philly lost 120-85 at the Utah Jazz on Tuesday without Joel Embiid (their best player) and Matisse Thybulle (their best perimeter defender).

Tyrese Maxey had 16 points and made two 3-pointers in 29 minutes, but no one else could make shots. Shake Milton scored a game-high 18 points but needed 19 shots to get there. Tobias Harris was held to just 4 of 9 shooting and Seth Curry only made one of his eight attempts.

"One thing Doc said on the bench is we can't be afraid to go 0-for-30. You got to shoot the next shot like it's going to go in," 76ers forward Isaiah Joe said. "Our defense could be better, no doubt, but we did miss a ton of wide-open looks."

On top of Embiid and Thybulle being out, sharpshooter Danny Green was held out due to a left hamstring. Ben Simmons is still out due to personal reasons, but even a 20-percent engaged Simmons could help this team right now.

Asking the 76ers, already depleted and with no chance of even coming close in the game, to keep it competitive is a tough ask in this matchup. Embiid would actually pose as a formidable option to defend Jokic but without him, this seems like another chance for Jokic to feast against the Sixers. Nuggets by 18

The 76ers are 0-8 ATS the past three seasons when a road dog between 6.5 and 12 points.

The 76ers are 1-5 ATS this season following a road game.

The Nuggets are 3-3 ATS this season as a home favorite.

PG: Tyrese Maxey

SG: Seth Curry
SF: Furkan Korkmaz
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Andre Drummond

PG: Monte Morris

SG: Will Barton
SF: P.J. Dozier
PF: Aaron Gordon
C: Nikola Jokic

76ers: Joel Embiid (COVID, out), Matisse Thybulle (COVID, out), Danny Green (hamstring, out), Ben Simmons (personal, out)

Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. (back, out), Will Barton (back, day-to-day), Jamal Murray (ACL, out)

Points: Joel Embiid -- 21.4

Rebounds: Andre Drummond -- 11.1

Assists: Tyrese Maxey -- 4.4

Points: Nikola Jokic -- 26.1

Rebounds: Nikola Jokic -- 13.8

Assists: Nikola Jokic -- 6.3