Denver, CO
Brooklyn Nets vs. Denver Nuggets: Game Preview, Betting Odds
The Brooklyn Nets’ difficult early-season schedule continues tonight when they face the Denver Nuggets and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Having just dispatched Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in its home opener, Brooklyn looks to repeat Sunday night’s all-around performance against a Denver squad that’s hungry to lift its record back to .500.
The Nets enter the day as 5.5-point underdogs to the Nuggets, and the total over/under is 218.5 points.
1. Cam Thomas needs another 30-ball. Averaging 30.7 points through three contests on 47% shooting, Thomas’ scoring has been pivotal in the Nets’ early performances. Given that Brooklyn is still quite banged up and will be without Ben Simmons tonight, another offensive explosion will be needed to keep the score close.
2. Dennis Schröder must continue his hot start. Buried by Thomas’ jaw-dropping performances has been the ever-steady play from the Nets’ veteran point guard. Without Simmons, he’ll be facilitating the offense on his own against Denver. Albeit in a small sample size, since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign Schröder is averaging a career-high 20.7 points nightly. If he and Thomas can combine for 50 points or more, Brooklyn will have a good shot at pulling off its second-straight upset.
3. Start Nic Claxton. A minutes restriction has hindered the Nets’ $100 million big man in the young season, but he looked worth every penny in the victory over the Bucks. Simmons’ injury costs Brooklyn another interior defender, and still without Day’Ron Sharpe’s services, the Nets cannot afford to limit Claxton’s plying time against Jokic.
Brooklyn Nets (1-2) vs. Denver Nuggets (1-2)
Check out Nets on SI later today for an updated injury report.
Oct. 29, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. EST
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
Following the Denver matchup, Brooklyn’s schedule gets slightly easier. They play a back-to-back on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow at 8 p.m. before returning to the Barclays Center to take on the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 1. Then the Nets get the Detroit Pistons at home on Nov. 3 and a rematch with the Grizzlies in Memphis on Nov. 4.
Even if the Nets drop another game tonight, the four games that follow are all winnable.
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The Denver Broncos are about as healthy as any team in the second round of the playoffs can hope to be. The Broncos have had their casualties this year, namely running back J.K. Dobbins, safety Brandon Jones, and center Luke Wattenberg, but they’ve managed to avoid the worst of the injury bug.
The Buffalo Bills can’t quite claim the same. The Bills were already banged up entering last week’s Wildcard Weekend.
While the Broncos rested, the Bills had to go into a tough environment and take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in their house. It was a physical game, and while the Bills prevailed, it came at a cost, with several players suffering serious injuries — including wide receivers Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers, both of whom were lost for the season.
Adding insult to injury (literally), the Bills have to travel on a short-week turnaround to play the Broncos on Saturday at 2:30 pm MDT. As a result of the Saturday kickoff, both teams had to start their practice clocks a day early, so Wednesday was Day 2 of the preparation week.
Let’s examine how things stand with both teams’ practice report.
Broncos’ Wednesday Practice Report
Defensive end John Franklin-Myers practiced in full once again, making it back-to-back days. He missed the season finale, so he’s had a good rest period to get ready for this game.
Limited in Wednesday’s practice were linebackers Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) and Drew Sanders (foot), along with tight end Lucas Krull (knee). Both Sanders and Krull are still on injured reserve, but the Broncos designated both to return on Tuesday.
I wouldn’t read too much into Greenlaw being limited on Tuesday and Wednesday, even if it’s the same on Thursday. The Broncos don’t want to tempt fate with him. He’s needed for this game against the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense.
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Bills’ Wednesday Practice Report
The Bills had four injured players practice in full: quarterback Josh Allen (foot/knee/finger), safety Damar Hamlin (pectoral), kicker Matt Prater (quad/calf), and wide receiver Curtis Samuel (elbow).
Limited
- Terrel Bernard | LB (Calf)
- A.J. Epenesa | DE (Neck)
- Ed Oliver | DT (Bicep)
- Dalton Kincaid | TE (Knee/Calf)
- Matt Milano | LB (Ankle)
- Greg Rousseau | DE (Back)
- Shaq Thompson | LB (Neck)
It’s worth mentioning that Thompson went from not participating on Tuesday to being limited on Wednesday.
Did Not Participate
- Maxwell Hairston | CB (Ankle)
- Ty Johnson | RB (Ankle)
- Jordan Poyer | S (Hamstring)
- Tyrell Shavers | WR (Knee)
Shavers is still listed on the practice report but he’s headed to injured reserve with a torn ACL. The trio of Hairston, Johnson, and Poyer are all key players, so it’ll be interesting to see if they progress at all on Thursday.
Looking at the limited Bills players, there’s every reason to expect they’ll play on Saturday. But they won’t be at full strength. At what point do the mounting injuries reach critical mass, split Buffalo’s differential, and tip over the this team’s playoff hopes?
The reigning MVP can cover a lot of holes. But Allen is only one guy and his receiving corps is quickly falling prey to this war of attrition.
If the Broncos shut down Buffalo’s rushing attack and put the game on Allen’s shoulders, as counter-intuitive as it may sound, that’s the path to victory. Aside from James Cook and Kincaid, Allen is running out of help at the skill positions.
More Must-Read Broncos-Bills Coverage
Every team in the NFL has injuries every season. It is part of the game and to be expected.
In having a dominant regular season that secured the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Broncos have allowed themselves to get healthy by and large at the right time.
The one glaring link missing is going to be Brandon Jones, who is going to be missed on defense. He’s a versatile, physical safety who has played exceptionally well in the Broncos’ defense.
But getting back inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw is a big deal. He’s an enforcer over the middle and is capable of covering backs and tight ends in the passing game (which is what the Bills love to target).
With Brandon Jones out, the news of P.J. Locke returning is welcome news. The Broncos are thin at safety, and he’s been the #1 backup for the safety group all season long. Hopefully, he’s learned from last year’s playoff game and won’t let Josh Allen pick on him as he did in last year’s playoff game.
Another key player getting healthy is Jonathan Franklin-Myers, who is an absolute beast of an interior lineman and a pass-rushing nightmare. With the style of pass rush that the Broncos employ on mobile quarterbacks, Franklin-Myers and compatriot Jared Allen could have big games up front.
At the end of the day, the Broncos have no excuses for this game. They are healthy, prepared, and playing at home. Now they just need to go out there and execute on Saturday.
Denver, CO
‘I can only imagine what it’s going to be like’: Broncos eager to play in front of home crowd as postseason football returns to Mile High City
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — By the time Bills quarterback Josh Allen steps to the line of scrimmage, that’s already too late.
The noise — the deafening roar of more than 76,000 fans at Empower Field at Mile High — must start earlier.
The yells, the stomps, the claps and the screams, as Head Coach Sean Payton emphasized Tuesday ahead of the Broncos’ first home playoff game in a decade, must start when Allen and the Buffalo Bills enter the huddle.
In the leadup to Denver’s playoff opener, Payton has touched on the importance of the noise coming earlier. He’s pointed to the difficulty of the quarterback communicating the play call in the huddle — and how the communication breakdowns could provide an advantage for Denver’s defense.
“There’s a stress that goes with that, too,” Payton said in mid-December. “That’s stressful. Creating that stress is a big advantage.”
Payton pointed to Empower Field at Mile High as one of just a handful of stadiums in the league with a potential to be truly deafening, and he called for that level of noise again when Denver hosts the Bills. The request, too, is simple enough. In 10-second bursts, when the Bills are in the huddle and as they line up to snap the ball, the noise should boom through the stadium. And then again. And then again. And again, for each of the Bills’ offensive snaps.
As Denver looks to book a trip to the AFC Championship Game, Payton knows that would be “a huge advantage” for the Broncos.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who is poised to play in his first career home playoff game, said he is eager to see how Broncos Country shows up for a long-awaited postseason matchup.
“I’ve been saying since I got here that we needed to get a home playoff game back in the city,” Sutton said. “The way that the fans have been showing up, Broncos Country has been bumping.
“… I can only imagine what it’s going to be like, first [postseason] home game since 2015. It’s well overdue, and I’m excited to see Broncos Country show up and show out.”
Cornerback Pat Surtain II said he’s also ready for a raucous environment that could help push the Broncos to a win.
“I know the atmosphere is going to be crazy,” Surtain said. “The stadium is going to be rocking at [Empower Field at] Mile High, and I’m looking forward to it. … I can already feel the magnitude of it and how electric that stadium is going to be. It’s going to be exciting.”
Playing a postseason game at home, of course, is not enough on its own to guarantee a win. During Wild Card Weekend, four of the six road teams earned victories.
“We have to be ready to play our best game,” Payton said.
In key moments, though, the Empower Field at Mile High crowd could help swing the game in Denver’s favor, whether via a miscommunication in the huddle or a pre-snap penalty. And in a battle that could come down to the very end, that could help the Broncos improve upon their 17-5 home postseason record.
“I expect it to be extremely loud,” quarterback Bo Nix said. “I expect it to be a great environment.
“… Something tells me it’ll be kicked up a notch, just because it’s got ‘playoffs’ on it.”
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