(Boulder-CO) Tonight’s Nuggets match-up is with the Golden State Warriors, a team that Denver beat in back-to-back games this past November, and should be a good one. The Nuggets are riding the momentum of two, that’s right two, road wins and should be in for a warm welcome home at Pepsi Center. Denver will be going for their third victory this season over the Warriors tonight, and have won the last three regular season match-ups dating back to last season (G-State did win in Monterrey, Mexico this preseason, but who counts preseason anyways?).
I think that it’s safe to say that neither team likes to play much defense. As of this very moment the Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors are tied for points scored per game at 105.5 and in the last two match-ups the Nuggets have exploded for 115 and a season-high 140 points respectively. However, if there is any advantage to be had, statistically speaking, it would have to go to the Nuggets because G-State is currently the worst defensive team in the league due to giving up 107.4 points on average to NBA foes. Another interesting point of note is that Carmelo Anthony is averaging better than 31 ppg against the Warriors this year, and as of the way he has been playing lately, I wouldn’t be surprised if he erupts tonight for a huge game offensively.
In the injury report both teams have significant scratches for tonight’s game. Denver is still waiting on the Camby-man to return and it is being reported that it’s flu-like symptoms that are nagging him now. His status is listed as day-to-day. Allen Iverson on the other hand is most likely not going to play tonight as he is still resting that twisted ankle that was re-aggravated during the overtime loss to the Hornets last Wednesday night. Golden State’s injury list is also long and high-profile. For starters, Jason Richardson is out with a broken hand that is supposed to keep him “business-casual” until after the All-Star break and Baron Davis has missed the last four games with a bruised left knee. Michael Pietrus is also probably a scratch due to a sprained right ankle of his own.
So, in the wake of having their ex-slam dunk champion and B-Diddy on the shelf the Warriors have been seeing a lot of good things out of second year player Monta Ellis and UCLA product Matt Barnes. Ellis is scoring at a nice clip of 17 points per game and Barnes is having career numbers of 10.7 points, five rebounds, and two assists in his fourth year. It should also be noted that Golden State is searching for some chemistry right now after acquiring three Indiana Pacer players in the blockbuster trade that sent Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, and others to Indy a couple of weeks ago. Their main pick-ups in that deal were Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson (the gun slinger), but neither man has fully acclimated himself to his new surroundings.
If there is anything that I haven’t covered in this preview, I strongly urge you to head over to http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/ to know thy enemy further. The guys over there are running one of the best Warriors sites on the ‘net and know their squad like the back of their hands. Go Nuggets, make the Warriors whimper!
UPDATE: Marcus Camby is suited and expected to start in tonight's game. Major plus for the chances of a win!
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