Denver Nuggets vs Houston Rockets Predictions

Denver’s availability drives the market

The NBA lists Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson and DeMar DeRozan as questionable for Monday’s 8:30 p.m. ET game. Julian Strawther is out with a left knee sprain. With so many important Nuggets unresolved, Houston is the likely winner, but Denver’s lineup could change the value of the -8.5 spread.

The Denver Gazette reported that a plane issue kept the Nuggets in Mexico City until shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday after their Saturday win over Indiana. The disrupted trip gives Denver little recovery time before playing in Houston and adds risk to backing the Nuggets before their active lineup is known.

Houston’s frontcourt is also depleted

The NBA lists Steven Adams out with a right soleus strain and Clint Capela out with a right ankle sprain. Those absences could matter most if Jokic plays, so Denver’s injury news affects both sides of the matchup.

Houston entered this game 7-3 after a Saturday loss at Phoenix, according to the Denver Gazette. The Rockets are -359 on the SPF moneyline, while Denver is +286. Houston should win more often, but that price offers little return in a game with major lineup uncertainty.

The total is 217.5, and there is no reliable evidence on expected starters or recent statistical trends to support an over or under wager. The spread and total are both passes until Denver’s availability becomes clearer.