Bill Yin breaks down his analysis, prediction, and pick for Nuggets vs. Nets on Thursday.

After the social media fanfare last night of LeBron James’ return to Cleveland, we’ll get to see another return tonight, albeit nowhere near as significant. Yes, the great Michael Porter Jr. will return to Denver tonight for the first time since he got traded over the offseason. Despite Porter Jr.’s stellar individual play, the Nets have been a dumpster fire once again, clocking in as the 13th seed in the East with a 12-33 record. They’re 1-9 in their last ten games.

The Nuggets are still a serious threat in the West even without Porter Jr. They’ve yet to receive the exact type of production they were hoping to replace Porter Jr. with in Cameron Johnson, but Peyton Watson has proved fit for the task. Denver is 31-16 and the third seed in the West.

These two teams have met just once this season, with the Nuggets losing at the hands of the Nets 115-127.

The Nuggets are currently –290 favorites on the Moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set to 228.5. Below, I’ll break down tonight’s matchup and offer my prediction.

Denver Nuggets vs. Brooklyn Nets preview, prediction

The Nets have been in the dumps ever since their three-headed monster of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving dissolved. This season they hold a 12-33 record. Last season, 26-56. Before that, 32-50. They’re currently tanking again with virtually no hopes of making the playoffs. They’re not fielding a competitive roster, obviously. Rookie Egor Demin has been impressive, showing some nice range in his debut season shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc. The puzzling part about the Nets is that they’re sitting Demin on some back to back sets, a strange decision considering Demin likely isn’t netting them (hah) many wins and is only 19 years old. Cam Thomas has also been a subject of scrutiny, as his role in this team consistently gets questioned. His inability to contribute in any other way besides scoring the basketball likely also frustrates the Nets’ front office.

Despite the Nets’ woes, they have to be happy about the promise that Demin has flashed as well as Michael Porter Jr.’s ascendance into an All-Star level player. But he’s not what they need right now, so Porter Jr. is also the subject of trade rumors, especially as we near the deadline. Porter is averaging 25.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG while slashing 48.3/39.5/84.6.

The Nuggets are doing quite well. They’re in the midst of another campaign with championship aspirations. Despite Nikola Jokic’s ironman status, this season he’s been bitten by the injury bug. But Denver has been holding it down in his absence, with Jamal Murray ascending as well. Murray is putting up career-highs in multiple categories such as 25.9 PPG, 7.4 APG, 48.8 FG%, 43.9 3P%, 4.8 FTA, and 9.2 FGM. He should be locked for an All-Star spot due to his stellar individual play and his contributions in helping his team stay afloat without Jokic.

Nuggets vs. Nets pick, best bet

Best bet: Brooklyn Nets +7.5

The Nets covered this spread at home when the Nuggets visited back on January 4th. Denver does have arguably the best home-court advantage in the NBA, but the Nets should be able to keep this one close due to Porter Jr.’s offensive game. He’s no stranger to the Colorado altitude, and he’s certainly had this game circled on his calendar for a while. Furthermore, the Nuggets will be missing four starters in Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, and Christian Braun.