Atlanta Hawks vs. Denver Nuggets - NBA preview
The Atlanta Hawks take on their Western Conference rivals, the Denver Nuggets, at the Philips Arena on Wednesday night. Both teams have a near identical record during the 2010-11 season and will be looking to push for a play-off spot.
The Nuggets have not been impressive on the road during the current season with a 13-20 record, but they have won their last two games and four of six away from the Pepsi Centre.
Denver opened their four-game road trip in brilliant fashion, as they defeated the host New Orleans Hornets 114-103 in the opening game on 14 March. It was the Nuggets third consecutive victory.
During an interview with the official website of the Nuggets, the 23-year-old forward Wilson Chandler said that the team really needs to stay focused, as there is still a long way to go in achieving their goal of reaching the play-offs. He said, "We can't
get too happy. It is the NBA. There are a lot of great teams. We play a lot of good teams on this road trip, so we've got to buckle down and stay focused."
Both of the Nuggets guards, Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton had a great game against New Orleans. The 23-year-old Lawson contributed a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 assists for Denver. On the other hand, the dazzling Felton came off the bench with 22 points
and 12 rebounds in the victory.
Denver seem to be quiet confident with Lawson in the line-up as he averaged 19.3 points, 10.7 assists and 59.5 percent shooting from the field during their winning streak. Looking back at the season, the Nuggets have played 67 matches, winning only 40 of
them. They have averaged 108.0 points per game, but have been poor defensively, allowing their opponents to average 108.0 points as well.
The Hawks, on the other hand, have won all of their last three games against the Nuggets.
Atlanta strolled to an easy 110-85 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks at Philips Arena on Tuesday night. They outscored the Bucks 84-55 at the end of three quarters. Joe Johnson led all players with a game-high 38 points, while Josh Smith added 17
points and pulled down 14 rebounds for the Hawks.
Johnson is at his peak nowadays, averaging 13.0 points on 41.1 percent shooting in his last four matches. The 24-year-old centre-forward Al Horford has also been up to the mark in the last six games against the Nuggets, averaging 16.8 points and 11.8 rebounds.
With a win/loss record of 20-12 at home, the Hawks have an excellent opportunity of beating the Nuggets tonight by capitalising on their home court advantage.
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