| 2012/2013 NBA Regular Season: Game 49 | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
vs |  |
| 25-21 (12-11 on the road)
|
0-0 |
|
| February 5, 2013 – 7:00 PM (MT) | ||
| Pepsi Center – Denver, Colorado |
||
| TV Altitude / 950 AM / 104.3 FM The Fan | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Brandon Jennings | PG | Ty Lawson |
| Monta Ellis | SG | Andre Iguodala |
| Luc Mbah a Moute | SF | Danilo Gallinari |
| Ersan Ilyasova | PF | Kenneth Faried |
| Larry Sanders | C | Kosta Koufos |
| Notes | ||
| Brew Hoop – preview is up!! | Blogs | Denver Stiffs |
| Marquis Daniels is out (personal reasons) | Injuries | None |
| Ellis and Jennings combined to score 41 points vs. the Magic on Feb. 2nd | Stat | JaVale McGee will play tonight! |
JaVale McGee has not played since Jan. 26th when the Nuggets absolutely destroyed the Sacramento Kings, 121-93. McGee has been back in practice this week and participated in the Nuggets shoot-around this morning and will play tonight against the Bucks.
This is good news as Denver could use the athletic big man to go against the Bucks own talented big men in Larry Sanders and rookie John Henson. The rookie out of North Carolina doesn’t play a ton, but he can do some good things when he is on the floor. But the starter in Milwaukee, Sanders, has George Karl’s attention.
"His rookie year he had eight or nine blocks in one game against us here in this building," Karl said. "This guy has blown up because of his ability to block shots and protect the paint. He's also a very good rebounder and has found a niche with the two little guys who penetrate all the time. We were kind of comparing him to a bigger Kenneth [Faried], but I think Kenneth has more instinctive skills."
Karl hit on the two explosive guards for the Bucks. Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis are not shy about shooting the ball. Ellis averages 18.6 points on 17.4 shots per game (not great) and Jennings averages 18.7 points on 16.6 shots per game. And the duo also hands out 11.5 assists per game between them.
“They have become a very good offensive team [without Scott Skiles] and with Skiles they’ve always had the ability to be a good defensive team,” said Karl. “It’s going to be a challenge. They are a playoff team and have two guards that could be All-Stars and on any given night can score a lot of points.”
Nuggets connections:
The Nuggets may have dodged a bullet by having the Bucks match a contract offer on Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in 2011. Moute is averaging 7.5 points per game and only shoots about 41% from the field and a miserable 58% from the foul line. This blogger is happy that the four-year and $18.7 million contract belongs to the Bucks.
Tobias Harris was on the Nuggets radar during the 2011 draft – luckily the Bucks grabbed him at No. 19 and the Nuggets snagged Faried at No. 22. Harris was a rotational player early in the season for the Bucks, but since averaging 18 minutes a game in November – Harris has been glued to the bench for the Bucks.
***
