NBA Match Preview: Denver Nuggets vs. Toronto Raptors
Tied at 0-0 for the season, the Denver Nuggets visit the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Center (ACC) on Friday night for the season's first meeting.
Having missed two chances for a 1000th milestone win this week, Nuggets’ coach George Karl hopes the match against the Raptors tonight will grant him entry into the elite club coaches with 1000-win. In his third attempt
this week, the seven consecutive wins over the Raptors add greatly to Karl’s hopes.
The Nuggets first attempt at the 1000th win for the coach came early this week, when they met the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday. Pitted against the team of 1000-win, coach Larry Brown, the Nuggets lost the game by a margin
of 2 points coming back from a 10 point deficit in the last quarter. The Nuggets suffered doubles losses against the Bobcats, not only was Karl denied his 1000th win, but also their defeat ended their season’s longest winning streak of seven games.
Their next defeat came on Wednesday when the Nuggets suffered their worst loss for the month, losing to the Boston Celtics by a margin of sixteen points. The Celtics sent the Nuggets packing with a 89-105 defeat.
Finishing off last two weeks with perfect 3-0 marks, the Nuggets are at an embarrassing 0-2 win loss score this week. However, meeting the Raptors tonight and then the New York Knicks on Sunday, the Nuggets can level their mark
for the week.
Their latest defeat against the Celtics primarily came because the Nuggets were missing their star forward Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was scratched before the Nuggets’ loss on account of inflammation in his right knee. Considered
day-to-day now, Anthony is likely to miss tonight’s matchup. Averaging a team high of 22.8 points, Anthony missing the game might dampen Karl’s chance of a milestone win tonight.
Nuggets’ road score of 3-7 also suggests the same, despite the fact that they have registered an impressive 10-1 at home this season.
The Raptors have suffered an equally disappointing week. Coming back from a two-match short road trip, the Raptors are currently 0-2 for the season bringing them currently on a three game losing streak. Having finished off last
week with 2-1 in three home matches, the Raptors currently register a 6-5 mark at home.
Their latest defeat at home came on Sunday, when they hosted the New York Knicks. A loss by a margin of seventeen points left the crowd disappointed at the ACC. The final match score was 116-99. Their latest defeat on Wednesday
was coincidentally again against the Knicks. In a last minute three pointer by Knicks’ Raymond Felton, the Raptors lost their third straight match on the road.
However, such a small margin defeat against the hot Knicks left the Raptors with much optimism. Talking about the match, guard Leandro Barbosa said, "The most important thing right now is that we did a great job and we fought
through until the end of the game. We're getting better. The effort that we put in tonight was great and I think that's the way that we're supposed to play every night and try to get a victory."
Raptors will also be missing their forward Peja Stojakovic on account of a swollen left knee. Friday’s game will be Stojakovic’s seventh straight missed game.
Given the seven consecutive wins over the Raptors, will the Nuggets finally be able to win one on the road this week? Will Karl get his 1000th milestone win? Or will the Raptors be the third team this week to deny Karl
his dream? Only tonight’s results will tell.
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