Problems for Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors will finish their four-game road trip with a match against the Denver Nuggets on Monday at Ball Arena in Denver. Golden State is winless in two games this season against reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
The Golden State Warriors suffered their fourth consecutive defeat as they couldn’t stop red-hot LeBron James from pouring season-high 56 points. The Warriors had a double-digit lead in the third quarter, but the Los Angeles Lakers won the final quarter by 13 points and secured a 124-116 victory. Both teams shot around 50.0% from the field, but the Lakers had three triples more and made 18 free throws opposite Golden State’s nine. The Warriors failed to cover a -5.5 spread, the ninth time in ten games they didn’t cover to drop to a 30-30-4 ATS record.
Steve Kerr’s team will be heavily undermanned heading into the game against the Nuggets. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggens, and Gary Payton II will not suit up for the Golden State Warriors. Kerr isn’t happy with the scheduled makeup game and will not allow his best players to take to the court.
The sixth-placed Denver Nuggets are slowly creeping their way into the top 4 of the Western Conference standings. They are only 2.5 games behind the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz. Denver is also only a game behind the Dallas Mavericks in the standings.
Nikola Jokic displayed his out-of-this-world brilliance yet again in the Denver Nuggets’ win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Serbian superstar dropped 30 of his 46 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to tow the Nuggets to the win. They can only hope to have enough energy against the Warriors in the second game of a back-to-back.
Denver Nuggets Form
Denver Nuggets last shared the court with New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, 6th of March when ending on the winning side of a 138-130 score. The Nuggets main contributor in that clash was Nikola Jokic who ended with a monster triple-double of 46 points, 11 assists, and 12 rebounds. Denver finished the game hitting 54.0% of their field goals, 79.1% FT and 30.3% for 3 pts. They are currently on a W2 streak, winning 8 of the last ten games while losing 2 times for the period. The team is performing on a mediocre level at the Ball Arena with 19-11 home record.
What should Denver should prioritize in tonight’s game
With Coach Kerr resting many of his high minute players the Nuggets should try and get Warrior players into foul trouble early. Many of the Warriors starters are normally bench players so that would mean Coach Kerr would have to go deep into the bench for replacement players. While the Warriors are a talented roster from 1-15, it will make the Nuggets players’ lives a lot easier if they are playing end of the bench guys instead of starters. If Looney gets in foul trouble, the Warriors’ best option to defend Jokić is Nemanja Bjelica or Otto Porter Jr.