NUGGETS PROBABLE STARTERS POS. NO. PLAYER HEIGHT WEIGHT PPG RPG APG NOTABLE [imgl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3706.jpg[/imgl] F 15 Carmelo Anthony 6-8, 230 30.9 5.9 4.2 Named to his first All-Star game by NBA Commissioner David Stern on 2/9. [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3437.jpg[/IMGl] F 21 Eduardo Najera 6-8, 235 6.5 4.3 0.9 Scored a season-high 18 points (8-9 FG) and added nine rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes at Indiana on 2/9. [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3605.jpg[/IMGl] C 31 Nene 6-11, 260 9.9 5.8 1.0 Posted 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes at Indiana on 2/9. [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3953.jpg[/IMGl] G 43 Linas Kleiza 6-8, 235 5.0 2.9 0.4 Started for the ninth time this season, totaling 15 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes at Indiana on 2/9. [imgl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3741.jpg[/imgl] G 25 Steve Blake 6-3, 172 5.5 1.8 3.8 Finished with 11 points (3-5 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4-4 FT), eight assists and two rebounds in 44 minutes at Indiana on 2/9. BUCKS PROBABLE STARTERS #.. Player................... .Ht. Wt. G GS. PPG RPG APG MPG FG% 3FG% FT% 23 Ruben Patterson... F 6-5 223 49 40 14.3 5.6 3.0 31.6 .533.. .182.. .624 31 Charlie Villanueva F 6-11 240 28 15 12.4 6.4 0.9 26.1 .478.. .250.. .814 6 Andrew Bogut....... C 7-0 245 50 50 12.0 8.6 2.9 33.3 .549.. .333.. .586 42 Charlie Bell. .........G 6-3 200 50 32 12.3 2.6 2.9 33.8 .421.. .326.. .763 25 Mo Williams......... G 6-1 185 40 40 18.4 5.2 6.2 36.3 .453.. .326.. .835 [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3274.jpg[/IMGl]Ruben Patterson [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3933.jpg[/IMGl]Charlie Villanueva [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3927.jpg[/IMGl]Andrew Bogut [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3570.jpg[/IMGl]Charlie Bell [IMGl]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3750.jpg[/IMGl]Mo Williams NUGGETS RED CROSS REPORT OUT: Kenyon Martin underwent successful surgery on his right knee on 11/15 and will miss the remainder of the season Allen Iverson returned to the lineup against New Orleans/Oklahoma City on 2/7after missing four games with a sprained right ankle. However, he continues to experience soreness and did not travel with the team on their twogame road trip. An MRI taken on 2/8 revealed no structural damage. GAME-TIME DECISION: Marcus Camby did not play at Indiana on 2/9 due to flu-like symptoms and is a game-time decision for tonight?s contest. BUCKS RED CROSS REPORT Dan Gadzuric Posterior dislocation, left shoulder OUT Michael Redd Left patellar tendon strain Day-to-Day Bobby Simmons Stress reaction, right heel OUT Brian Skinner Back spasms Day-to-Day TONIGHT'S MATCHUP BY THE NUMBERS KEY FOR TEAM STATISTICS: PPG Points Per Game (measures offense) OPG Opponents Points Per Game (measures defense) FG% % of All Shots Made (2's and 3's) 3PT% % of 3-Point Shots Made FT% % of Free Throws Made RPG Rebounds Per Game APG Assists Per Game SPG Steals Per Game BPG Blocks Per Game TO Turnovers Per Game ..............PPG.. OPG.. FG% 3PT% FT% RPG APG. SPG. BPG.. TO NUGGETS 105.4 103.9 .455 .325.. .745 44.2 23.1 8.25 4.98 16.6 BUCKS..... 99.8 103.6 .463 .327.. .724 48.2 21.6 6.94 2.71 14.6
The Nuggets will win tonight against the Bucks if they play similar to last night. Their new closing strategy, where they change their stripes late in the game and start playing like the Jazz or the Rockets, is great, if overdue. (For details, see the report on the Pacers game.) At Melo's urgent request, the Nuggets are trying to return to the less complicated days when they were just having fun playing basketball, back in November and December. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> PREVIEW VENUE: Bradley Center Carmelo Anthony finally got his All-Star nod. He'll try to live up that status and help the Denver Nuggets win consecutive games when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. Anthony was named to the All-Star team by NBA commissioner David Stern on Friday as an injury replacement, a long-speculated move after the Western Conference coaches snubbed Anthony - who leads the league in scoring with 30.9 points per game - for a reserve role. He answered the recognition by scoring 34 points to lead Denver to a 102-95 win over Indiana on Friday, snapping the team's three-game losing streak. The injury-ravaged Nuggets (24-24) played without starters Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby. Iverson didn't travel with the team after aggravating his sprained ankle in Wednesday's 114-112 overtime loss to New Orleans, while Camby sat out with a strained left groin. "Before the game, I just told my teammates 'Look, we haven't been having any fun out there. Let's just have fun and play the game," Anthony said. "I thought we did that tonight." Both Denver and Milwaukee (19-31) are quite familiar with each other, as the teams have completed two trades in the last six months. The Nuggets traded Ruben Patterson to Milwaukee in August for Joe Smith, who was later dealt to Philadelphia in the deal for Iverson. On Jan. 11 - three days after Denver beat the Bucks 104-92 at home - the Nuggets sent guards Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge to the Bucks in exchange for point guard Steve Blake. Milwaukee waived Hodge on Wednesday, but Boykins has averaged 16.1 points in 15 games with the Bucks. Meanwhile, Blake has stepped as the starter for Denver after filling a reserve role with the Bucks, and is averaging 6.5 assists with his new team. Blake had 11 points and eight assists in Friday's victory. All five starters scored in double figures for Denver, which had dropped seven of its previous eight games. "We fought through a lot of hell and a lot of injuries," Denver coach George Karl said. "All of the losses we've had, not one of them have been a bad loss. We're still in a good place. It was a big win tonight and hopefully we get another one on the road." </div> Source
