When my friend Mark emailed me and said he was excited to see the new-look Nuggets against the Celtics (41-14), I did my best to remind myself that tonight’s game will be a difficult one and one we shouldn’t read too much into. But I would love to see the Nuggets pull out a huge win with the new guys in uniform.

 

The particulars …

Game: 59
Records:
Denver: 33-25 (23-7 at home)
Streak: Won 2 and 5-5 in last 10 games.
Boston: 41-14 (16-9 on the road)
Streak: Won 3 and 6-4 in last 10.
Injuries:
Denver: None!!
Boston: Kendrick Perkins (bruised left knee) is day-to-day. Shaquille O’Neal (right leg), Jermaine O’Neal (left knee) and Marquis Daniels (bruised spinal cord) are all out tonight.

Season Series: Celtics lead 1-0 (defeated the Nuggets in Boston on Dec. 8th 105-89) .

Opposition's Take: Celtics Blog

What year is it? 2011 right?

By now we are supposed to have hover cars, a single-pill that gives us the calories our bodies need for the day and teleport machines that render airplanes useless. Movies from the 1980s and even 1990s lied to me!

My major gripe is with the teleport units. If the brain power around the world would quit focusing on curing disease and focus more on leisurely items I might be able to see tonight’s game in person. But no, there are more “pressing” things in the world I guess. I’ll have to give the new Nuggets players a living-room standing ovation and I hope all of you in attendance tonight will do for me what I can’t do for Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos.

They say when you can't say it better than someone else, then you should go ahead and quote that person. Well, Chris Dempsey has a wonderful preview up for tonight's game and well … he is saying all the things that I'm thinking about. He touches on the Scorers, lineups and the pace of the game. 

The new Nuggets? Here's what they'll look like – Chris Dempsey, Denver Post

 

“Five new players have to be integrated into the lineup, and there will be growing pains at a time of the season when teams making a push for the playoffs really can’t afford to have them. The new Nuggets get their first run on the court tonight vs. the Celtics.”

In order for the Nuggets to have a shot tonight they need to play with controlled madness. They need to stay active on defense by rotating to the proper spots and even staying with their man. They need to set up their offense with an active defense. And once the Nuggets get the ball … run, run and run some more. The Celtics are not the youngest team around and Denver has a major advantage of being able to throw at least 10 players at them. Fresh legs for Denver should mean a fast pace and a  fun style to watch.

Denver can worry about the Xs-and-Os later … tonight it's all about running the Celtics out of the building. It'd be great to see the new guys impress the home fans with a big win.

And it'd be even better to see these Nuggets get the welcoming ovation they deserve.

 

 

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