(Boulder-CO) The Denver Nuggets travel west tonight to take on the Golden State Warriors in a game that I have to admit does have me feeling a bit uneasy. The Nuggets traded Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups on Monday, but Chauncey will not be available for Denver's first game since the transaction and thus leaves the Nuggets shorthanded in the scoring column and even more so at the guard position.
Without Iverson, the Nuggets will need Carmelo Anthony to return to his familiar scoring form, sans the cornrows. In his first game back from suspension, Anthony only scored 13 points on a dreadful 5-15 shooting night while grabbing only four rebounds in a Nuggets loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Denver's home opener. And as of right now, 'Melo has the fifth highest scoring average - including the loss of AI - on the team behind Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, Anthony Carter, and Nene.
As for the Warriors, despite being 1-3 to start the season, and without moped maniac Monta Ellis, there are some bright spots for Don Nelson's squad. They only lost by five to the juggernaut Hornets in their season opener, suffered an overtime loss to the Raptors on the road before winning a tough game on the road against the Nets in New Jersey, but once again faltered to the Memphis Grizzlies to end their three-game road trip.
However, the Golden State Warriors are not going to be an easy opponent. They have a well-balanced offensive attack consisting of five players averaging better than a dozen points led by Stephen Jackson's 21.3 ppg and Corey Maggette 18.3 points and almost seven rebounds per game. And in a game that will probably be a shootout, not having Allen Iverson or his replacement is going to make emerging victorious in Oakland a tall order indeed.
Go Nuggets!
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