Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction on October 25, 2024

Match info

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s 2024–25 NBA season will begin on Thursday evening (October 24 at 8 p.m. local time; October 25 at 2 a.m. UTC) when they travel to Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, USA, to play the Denver Nuggets in a duel between the two Western Conference teams. The Thunder were ahead of the Nuggets in first place in the Conference standings last season in the premiere North American men’s basketball competition, thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker, as the two sides had identical records (57–25). Even so, the best betting sites for basketball put Denver in the role of the favorites here.

Meeting statistics

The current form of the Denver Nuggets

Fans of the Denver Nuggets are probably a little anxious going into this season-opening because their team recently finished an unimpressive preseason in which they only won one of five games. Worries really started to grow after they lost precisely to the Thunder 124-94 at the venue that will host the next match in their fourth preseason game, in which Michael Malone’s team only managed 25 assists, made 10 three-pointers, and gave up 17.

Although Russell Westbrook, Jamal Murray, and Nikola Jokić didn’t play in that game, the Nuggets’ performance indicated they’d have trouble finding depth this season. Additionally, their defense was appalling throughout the preseason, even when they were playing at near full strength. Finding the ideal mix between their younger and seasoned core players' contributions will be crucial to Denver’s success this season. On the other hand, major roster changes can be imminent if things don’t work out as expected. Be that as it may, they are favorites in the upcoming match with 1.741 on 888STARZ. OKC are 2.166.

The Denver Nuggets’ huge worry will be who’ll step up to cover for shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who left the club as a free agent during the offseason. Given his experience, Christian Braun is anticipated to start this and other games ahead of Julian Strawther; nonetheless, it wouldn’t be shocking if Malone tried a few other players at this position.

The current form of the Oklahoma City Thunder

Fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who saw their team record 57 victories last season—up from 40 in 2022–23—and have one of the NBA’s youngest squads, have reason to be extremely optimistic. After an incredible season, dropping out of the Conference semifinals brought a sense of bittersweetness, but it also brought to light the enormous potential of a project that hasn’t yet reached its full potential.

The OKC’s lack of depth in the paint beyond Chet Holmgren was perhaps the only critique on them from the previous season, but the franchise management appears to have allayed those worries by adding Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. The former is still regarded as one of the league’s top defenders, and his experience might be very helpful to this young Thunder squad. Hartenstein is a center who gives the team interior toughness and exceptional rebounding skills.

While many believe Holmgren and Jalen Williams will make their first All-Star team this season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished his second consecutive season among the top five MVP contenders, is predicted to be the center of attention for OKC once more. Hartenstein is expected to miss at least the first month of the season due to a fractured hand, while Williams is listed as a minor doubt for the match against the Nuggets after suffering a sprained ankle in the Thunder’s preseason finale.

Head-to-head

Regular season stats say that Oklahoma City has a better H2H than Denver, noting 104 wins against the rival’s 95. Recently, the Thunder are better too, winning four out of the last five matches.

Match analytics

Even though the Nuggets will be playing with their best players this time, it was difficult to ignore their lack of depth and poor preseason performance, especially on defense. The way the Thunder defeated the Nuggets a few weeks ago was stunning, and even though they weren’t at their peak during the preseason, we think OKC will start the season with a win in this game.

Tip: Points Handicap Oklahoma City Thunder (-1.5), with odds of 2.20 on Betcoin.ag.

Results of the forecast

Successful forecast. Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder 87:102