Friday, January 25, 2008

Nuggets vs. Nets: Game 42 Preview

(Boulder-CO) Sorry about being tardy, everybody. That midseason review was a dozy yesterday and duty called this morning. But without further delay: Tonight, the Nuggets host a very dangerous Nets team that is pushed back into a corner. New Jersey has lost a season-high seven straight games including a back and forth struggle last night in Oakland at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. Now, they may be tired, weary, and a little bit on edge after playing last night and having to travel, but that is exactly what scares me about this team. That and the facts that they are a very capable road team at 9-10 overall this season and the Nuggets are prone to taking nights off.

Carmelo is listed as doubtful in the team’s media notes, but on ESPN the Nuggets are hopeful to have him in action. I personally have heard from sources that he is a game-time decision and that the decision is right now 50/50. ‘Melo may not start and see how the game goes. If his teammates are handling the job, don’t expect Anthony to play. If it appears that Denver is going to struggle, don’t be surprised if he gets up and takes off the sweats.

If he plays, fine. If not, the rest of the Nuggets need to be prepared to once again pick up his slack. Offensively, the Nuggets’ best bet is going to be to move the ball up and down the floor with quick passing. I say this because the Nets are not known for getting up and down the floor with much speed and I think Allen Iverson and Anthony Carter can push the ball on Jason Kidd and probably hit guys like Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith for easy transition buckets. On defense, the Nuggets are going to have to be aware of where Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson are at all times because both men can shoot the trey while trying to keep Jason Kidd from recording his 11th triple double of the season. In addition, the Nuggets are currently better than the Nets across the statistical board and this is another one of those games that Denver should win.

Will they? You make the call. Lately I’ve been a jinx, so leave your prediction in the comments section.

Go Nuggets!

1 comment:

ThaAnswer said...

Someone will have to step up, and hopefully it's LK (after all, I just picked him up in my fantasy league lol). And am I correct that we didn't see any JR Wednesday night? I like watching him play.

I predicted the Atlanta win so let's hope I can pull two in a row. I think Melo will sit this one out but we'll manage to win by 5.