Philadelphia 76ers vs Denver Nuggets 11/18/21: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds, Live Stream

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets Matchup Preview (11/18/21)

On November 18th, the Philadelphia 76ers will travel to the “Mile High City” to battle the Denver Nuggets to try and stay above .500. The Sixers and Nuggets have been prone to injuries and health and safety protocols that have forced key players to miss significant time. For this bout, they will both be without several players: the Sixers will be without Matisse Thybulle, Danny Green, and Joel Embiid, while the Denver Nuggets will be without Michael Porter Jr and Will Barton. While Embiid and other starters have missed several games this season, many role players have stepped up in a big way. Tyrese Maxey, Seth Curry, Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, and Georges Niang are averaging double-digits in points. Meanwhile, Denver is getting one of the all-time great single seasons, albeit very early, from Nikola Jokic. Still, this does not entirely fix the Denver Nuggets’ shooting woes from behind the arc. If the Nuggets want to win, they will need to defend the three-point line well as Philadelphia shoots the ball incredibly well and also shoot it much better than they have been. The Sixers can win by containing Jokic and forcing the Nuggets’ offense to rely on other players to score and distribute.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets Betting Odds

The odds for this game have not been dropped by major sportsbooks yet. The table above will populate with the odds once they are available to the public, but we can speculate on the winner of the matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets.

Even though the Denver Nuggets have injury issues of their own, they have found ways to win games still, while the Sixers have struggled a lot recently. The Nuggets should be favored at home against a sliding Sixers team that does not have Joel Embiid, Danny Green, or Matisse Thybulle. Jokic should have a huge game against the Embiid-less Sixers, and I think the Nuggets will knock down shots at home. I would hit the Nuggets’ Moneyline, especially since they have a 7-1 record at home and have a great mismatch on Jokic with Embiid not playing.

TV Schedule

Date: 11/18/21
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Arena: Ball Arena – Denver, CO
Channel: NBA TV

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Philadelphia 76ers Starting Lineup

PG: Tyrese Maxey
SG: Seth Curry
SF: Shake Milton
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Andre Drummond

Philadelphia 76ers Analysis

The 76ers have had significant turbulence at the beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season. They have been without Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, and Matisse Thybulle for a huge portion of the year, while Ben Simmons has not played. Despite all of that, Philadelphia is 8-7; however, the Sixers are on a five-game losing streak. Embiid has been absolutely imperative to this team, and his absence has been the reason for this slide the Sixers are on. Tyrese Maxey has stepped up to the plate with the absence of Embiid and several other key players throughout the season. He has exploded for 31 and 33 points in two of his past four games, over doubling his scoring average from last season. For the Sixers to break off from this losing streak, they have to rebound the ball better as they rank dead-last in the NBA. Luckily for them, the Nuggets aren’t that much better of a rebounding team, but they will still need to improve.

Denver Nuggets Starting Lineup

PG: Monte Morris
SG: Austin Rivers
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Aaron Gordon
C: Nikola Jokic

Denver Nuggets Analysis

Denver has its fair share of issues, including recent lingering back injuries to both Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr, as well as the knee injury last season to guard Jamal Murray that will still keep him out for the foreseeable future. Luckily for the Nuggets, they still have Nikola Jokic, who has put up some historical numbers on one of the best PER ratings of all-time, albeit early in the season. Jokic has completely fixed the one area of his game that was a perceivable weakness: his defense. He has one of the highest defensive ratings for a big man in the NBA now. With Porter Jr and Murray out, Will Barton has stepped up significantly, averaging 16.4 points per game at the beginning of this year. The Nuggets need to improve significantly on the offensive end, particularly behind the arc, as they rank 28th in the NBA.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets Daily Fantasy Picks

Tyrese Maxey has exploded on the NBA scene and has been a massive contributor in just his second season for Philadelphia. Maxey has averaged 17.5 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds through the first 15 games of the Sixers’ season. Recently, Maxey has been on even more of a tear, putting up an average of 26 points in his last four games. He has stepped up significantly since Embiid has been out and should continue to do so in this game, despite Denver having a terrific defense. The Sixers will need to rely heavily on Maxey because of how many injuries they are dealing with. I would expect a 25-30 point night from Maxey.

It would be challenging for me to convince a DFS player of selecting anyone besides Nikola Jokic on the Denver Nuggets. While your budget may require Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, or Monte Morris, that will hopefully be because you already have Jokic in your lineup. It is still early in the season, but Jokic is on pace for the highest PER (player efficiency rating) of all-time, which obviously means he is doing everything a player can do on the floor. Jokic averaged 26.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on 59.3% from the field and 38.6% from three. He could improve at the free-throw line this year, but he has been an absolute menace outside of that. Jokic should especially be in your lineup in this game since Joel Embiid will be out.