Denver Nuggets look for redemption as they host the Golden State Warriors – NBA Preview
The Golden State Warriors travel to Denver to take on the Denver Nuggets in what is a crucial match for the hosts. They are currently placed at 8th spot in the Western Conference and are only a win ahead of 9th
placed Phoenix Suns.
The Suns can easily displace the Nuggets from that last playoff spot and hence it is important for the Nuggets to win and increase the gap.
These two teams played Saturday night in Oakland where the Warriors got a comfortable 112-97 victory. The Warriors come into this match having won 2 of their last 6 matches, while the Nuggets have won 3 of their last 6.
In the Saturday night win against the Broncos, 7 Warriors players had double figure points, including 3 bench players. Brandon Rush came off the bench to score a team high 20 points, going 4 of 6 from the 3 point line. David Lee
chipped in with 17 points and 9 rebounds for the Warriors. Golden State outplayed the Nuggets in rebounds, shooting and assists and also had fewer turnovers.
The Warriors also won the 9th February clash between the two teams at Denver 109-101, making them 2-0 against Denver this season. In that game, they were led by Stephen Curry, who had a game high 36 points and 7 assists.
The Nuggets scoring was led by Arron Afflalo who had 26 points for the night scoring 50% of the field goal attempts and going 5 of 8 from the 3 point line.
Both games between these two teams have been high scoring ones. Denver are at the top of the league in points scored per game but Golden State are at 10th place. Hence it was a great effort by the Warriors to outscore
the Nuggets, and a worrying sign for Denver.
Golden State shot better from the field as well as the 3 point line in both games as compared to Denver. They shot a combined 52% from the field and 45.6% from beyond the arc in the two games. Denver in comparison shot 44.8% from
the field and just 32.6% from downtown.
David Lee has been phenomenal for the Warriors over the past 3 games, averaging 24.7 points and 9.7 rebounds. Klay Thompson has also been consistent, scoring 17 points on average in his previous three games. Brandon Rush had a
big night against Denver last Saturday, when he came off the bench to score 20 points.
The Golden State bench has provided good support overall in the last few games, with Richard Jefferson and Nate Robinson scoring a combined 15.6 points per game on average, coming off the bench.
For the Nuggets, Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo hold the key. Lawson had 21 points against Golden State last Saturday, while Afflalo is averaging 20.3 points over his last 3 games. Andre Miller and Al Harrington are providing good
support from the bench, scoring a combined 30.2 points per game in their last three appearances for the Nuggets. The forwards are the area of concern for Denver. Kenneth Faried has scored only 9 points in the two games played against Denver, averaging only
8.6 points in his last 3 games. Jordan Hamilton went 0 of 7 in Saturday’s loss to the Warriors, and Rudy Fernandez could only manage 9 points off 4 of 13 shooting from the field in the February 9th loss to Golden State.
Denver will be looking for some redemption come Monday night and will also try to improve their record so that they do not lose their playoff spot. The Warriors, on the other hand, have nothing to lose and will be playing aggressively
and with confidence, after the win on Saturday night. Denver are 16-12 at home, but have won their last two games at the Pepsi Center.
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