A huge NBA Cup matchup takes place on Friday night in the Western Conference, as the winner of the San Antonio Spurs-Denver Nuggets matchup will take West Group C.

Denver is favored at home, where it is 6-2 straight up this season, as the Spurs are down both Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama in this game.

However, the Nuggets don’t have two of their starters in Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun in this matchup. Can Nikola Jokic carry Denver to a win at home?

Oddsmakers have the Nuggets as 7.5-point favorites at Ball Arena, but San Antonio is 3-1 against the spread as an underdog this season.

Here’s a breakdown of this game, including the latest odds, my favorite prop and a prediction on Friday. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

Moneyline

Total

Spurs Injury ReportNuggets Injury ReportSpurs Best NBA Prop Bet

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why Dylan Harper is a solid prop target against Denver: 

San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper scored just seven points on Wednesday in his return to action, but he also played less than 18 minutes.

Harper came out of that game without any issue after missing time with a calf strain, and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft should have an expanded role on Friday with Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama still out for the Spurs.

Harper is averaging 13.0 points per game this season while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from 3-point range. While he has not played more than 29:19 in a single game this season, Harper has 11 or more points in six of his seven appearances.

He’s a solid value target against a Denver team that is without two elite defenders in Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon on Friday. 

Even with Wemby out of the lineup, I don’t mind taking the points with the Spurs here with Denver’s margin for error getting much slimmer since Gordon and Braun went down.

Now, the Spurs are not the more talented team in this matchup, but they have some big bodies – like Luka Kornet and Kelly Olynyk and others – that they can throw at Jokic tonight in an attempt to make his life tougher. 

I don’t expect the Spurs to slow him down enough to win, but Denver has been shaky against the number as of late, winning just one game by double digits (against Memphis) since Gordon went down.

San Antonio has done a solid job as an underdog, and it has Dylan Harper back in the lineup to give it another scoring punch alongside De’Aaron Fox. With so much at stake in the NBA Cup standings, I think the Spurs keep this game within 7.5 points tonight. 

Pick: Spurs +7.5 (-108 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

Claim the latest DraftKings promo code offer today. Sign up and win your first $5 bet to get $300 in bonus bets instantly +3 months of NBA League Pass.