Denver has had some success in Toronto, but last season they lost by 27 and allowed the Raptors to shoot 49-86 good for 57%.
I fear the same result this time when Denver visits.
The Nuggets blew out the Raptors in Denver just over a week ago and Toronto will be looking for some payback. Chris Bosh is back and has played two games this week. He should be at full strength for this meeting.
Look for Toronto to work to control the pace more in this game as they discovered they had as much of a chance with running with the Nuggets as Steven Hawking would have running with the Bulls in Pamplona. Toronto is a respectable 20-13 at home. They are a good shooting team and should be able to take advantage of the Nuggets lack of focus on the perimeter. Even in the blowout in Denver where they only scored nine fast break points they still shot 49%. If this turns out to be a half court game, Denver will be in trouble.
This is Denver’s fourth game in six nights on the road and it will take a strong commitment on their part to push the pace. With Chucky Atkins, LK, J.R. and Eduardo available to provide some solid minutes off the bench and allow the starters to run knowing they will get opportunities to rest.
Denver is only a game and a half back of Golden State who has back to back games against the Lakers tomorrow and Monday. If Denver can win in Toronto and Memphis, there is a chance that they will be back in the eighth spot come Tuesday morning. That would be an amazing swing in a race where we were recently wondering if Denver could somehow catch Golden State in three weeks.
Of course, we cannot completely discount the chances that Denver will find themselves even further back on Tuesday morning.
If Denver can take care of business these last two games it would make what began to look like a tragic 1-4 or 0-5 road trip end up looking like a tremendous success at 3-2.
