Warriors (14-13) @ Nuggets (18-11) Warriors (14-13) @ Nuggets (18-11)[/b] Sunday, December 28th 6:00 pm pacific Probable Starters Nick Van Exel/Andre Miller Jason Richardson/Voshon Lenard Mike Dunleavy/Carmelo Anthony Clifford Robinson/Nene Erick Dampier/Marcus Camby Key Match-up This will be a key matchup. The last time these two teams squared off Lenard was on fire and the Warriors had no answer for him. He put the Warriors in a deep hole that they were never able to recover from. Richardson is coming off a stellar performance over the Kings and must keep up this kind of play. He is at his best going to the basket. He may have to do his best work Defensively. Warrior Keys To the Game The Warriors are coming off a pair of GREAT wins over Great teams. But now they will be tested in a big way on the road. The Warriors have played the Nuggets pretty straight up the first two games but were not able to make key shots down the stretch. Look for NVE to have the ball in the 4th in this one. They match up well with the Nuggets. Dampier must continue his dominance in the paint against a very lenghy Camby. If J-Rich continues to impress and NVE plays the way he did against the Kings in the 4th quarter, the Warriors will be in good shape. Dunleavy must limit Carmelo's looks at the wrack. The biggest key will be applying pressure to Andre Miller. He is a great point guard and could have a huge night. The key is to not let him get off to a good start. Nuggets Keys To the Game The key's to victory for the Nuggets will be keeping Erick Dampier off the glass where he has dominated games this year. The bench play will be the real key here...Can the Nuggets keep players like Brian Cardinal,Calbert Cheaney,Speedy Claxton, Troy Murphy quiet.Those guys have been huge for the Warriors this season. They always bring in energy while being a huge boost on both ends of the floor. The benches will be key..and how Earl Boykins a former Warrior does..who has been playing amazing basketball all season. If he has a high scoring game the Nuggets chances of victory will be very high. It could be a Boykins/Van Exel 4th quarter show! <font color="Blue">Rudeezy's</font> Prediction It is simple: if the Warriors play with the same amount of intensity as they have displayed on their homestand, this one is theirs. But the Warriors have lacked consistency on the road thus far. I'm going purely on a gut feeling and going with the Warriors in this one. Warriors by 8.
Two hot teams going at it. The Nick/Andre matchup should be a good one. Also, I like the Dampier/ Camby matchup. Close game... Warriors win by 2 points.
Not a lot to split these teams because of how well they match up. I suspect the home court advantage will be the key here, so Warriors by 4. I think it will be tight the whole way through, and Van Exel's play will decide this one.
Not a lot to split these teams because of how well they match up. I suspect the home court advantage will be the key here, so Nuggets by 4. I think it will be tight the whole way through, and Van Exel and Boykins' play may very well decide this one. Carmelo is coming off 37, too.
Prediction Nuggets- 89 Warriors- 84 Carmelo Anthony- 24 points, 7 rebounds Jason Richardson- 19 points, 5 rebounds Nick Van Exel- 21 points, 6 assists
I think at home, GSW could snatch a win, but as its in the Pepsi Center, Ive got to go with Denver. Nuggets by 5+. My Preview
Dimemag article Nice to hear some positive stuff, huh? Game of the Day December 27, 2003 If you pay attention to the Smack (which you should if you know what?s good for you) you?d know that we love tonight?s Golden State vs. Denver match up. Why do we love these two squads and even more why do we love these two squads playing each other? The easy answer is young, run ?n gun, well coached athletic basketball. Both the Nuggets and the Warriors are a vision of how the NBA would love to see their teams play. These two traditionally small market cities have started to embrace their teams because of the effort they put forward night in and night out and the athleticism and versatility that both rosters carry. The Nuggets are led and will continue to be led by Carmelo Anthony, but Melo is only a small part of the new Nuggs. Denver has depth and excitement at every position. Up front they have Marcus Camby, Nene, and Chris Anderson (not to mention Fransisco Elson who can also play a bit). Scoring almost at will this season has been the surprising Voshon Leonard. Voshon has taken a huge burden off Melo. At the point, Andre Miller is starting to play with more confidence and with the continued inspired play of Earl Boykins the Nuggets have strong leadership running the show. If all that isn?t working, both Rodney White and Skeeta can step in and score if given the opportunity. The Nuggets can beat you in multiple ways and with multiple players. The Warriors have a similar make up to Denver. G-State let go of their two young stars, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison sending off signals that the organization would reverse its direction. The Warriors have skyrocketed to the top of the West, but they haven?t lost ground on last season?s developments either. The added depth and experience the Warriors received in return for Jamison has seemed to have paid off. The Warriors also go deep up front led by the superb play of Erick Dampier, the return of Troy Murphy, the versatility of Cliff Robinson, and one of this year?s surprises, Brian Cardinal. With both Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy stepping up their scoring and Nick Van Exel and Speedy Claxton running a strong scoring offense at the point the Warriors have already exceeded this season?s expectations. Most of all these two teams are just exciting to watch. They bring the professionalism of NBA players but the flair of the college game. If we had our choice between the Lakers vs. the Pistons or the Warriors vs. the Nuggets we?d take the latter every time. Don?t believe us? Check it out. a >> The Gallery >> Hot Links - The Smack God's sites of choice. >> Smack Archive - Miss a day?
Nice article but please provide a link to the source. This should be a great game tonight, two teams heading in the same direction.
i LOVE how whenever nick touches the ball he get's booed. he used to get booed even when he was with the nuggets...they HATE nick there. i'm interested in seeing the mike dunleavy/melo matchup, simply because i think dunleavy is growing less concerned with producing and more concerned with playing basketball...which has improved his play as of late. i've been really impressed with his attitude to come out and do that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting thePHentity:</div><div class="quote_post">i LOVE how whenever nick touches the ball he get's booed. he used to get booed even when he was with the nuggets...they HATE nick there. i'm interested in seeing the mike dunleavy/melo matchup, simply because i think dunleavy is growing less concerned with producing and more concerned with playing basketball...which has improved his play as of late. i've been really impressed with his attitude to come out and do that. </div>He is not liked in Denver and I think it gives him that much more motivation. If I was going for the other team, I would not boo NVE...he takes it personal and enjoys crushing your team. Dunleavy has improved tremendously, it showed in the Kings game. He must now work on his quickness, his lack of D is the only thing holding him back now. Magic- Claxton is VERY good.
Nuggets update Denver notched its 18th win Friday -- 95-94 over Houston -- one more victory than it had all of last season. The Nuggets are two games behind defending NBA champion San Antonio in the Midwest Division. Leading the revival is standout rookie Carmelo Anthony, who scored a career-high 37 points against the Rockets. Denver swept a home-and-home series with the Warriors this month. Warriors update After back-to-back wins over the Lakers and Kings, Golden State (14-13) is in position to move two games over the .500 mark for the first time this season. ...The Warriors lost to the Nuggets twice earlier this month. ... In his first five games since coming back from a torn tendon in his right foot, power forward Troy Murphy has averaged 8.8 points, seven rebounds, 19 minutes and 36.1-percent shooting from the field. He also is 18- for-20 at the free-throw line. ... The Warriors return home to face Boston on Monday before beginning a five-game road trip Wednesday in New Jersey. Warriors injuries C Adonal Foyle (leg), F Popeye Jones (knee) and C Evan Eschmeyer (knees) are out. Nuggets injuries G Jon Barry (cervical strain) and F Mark Pope (knee) are out.
Not a lot to split these teams because of how well they match up. I suspect the home court advantage will be the key here, so Nuggets by 4. I think it will be tight the whole way through, and Van Exel and Boykins' play may very well decide this one. Carmelo is coming off 37, too.
The Warriors have jumped out to a big first quarter lead up 26-12 with a minute and a half left in the first quarter. The Warriors are playing amazing Defense and J-Rich is having his way on offense. First Quarter Warriors 26 Nuggets 12 Warriors playing amazing defense and are getting great looks on offense. Great first quarter.
What happened to the warriors after the first quarter? Man...they got outscored a ton in the 2nd and 3rd quarters..
well...can't win em all. especially against the nuggets this year looks like the warriors are following the pattern of W W L L W W L L lol
