Denver’s huge win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night was memorable in a variety of ways, but any high the Nuggets are riding must now come back down as the Golden State Warriors are in town. But that doesn’t mean the Nuggets won’t be up for the challenge – they are winners of four of their last six games, and are two missed buzzer beaters and three points away from being 6-0 in that stretch.
Golden State comes into Denver on a back-to-back after squeezing out a win in Sacramento last night, but even with tired legs, a late flight and recent struggles the Warriors are still the Warriors. The Nuggets have matched up fairly well with Golden State as of late, defeating them in Oakland in December, but lost the ensuing match up on January 8. Tonight will be the final regular season meeting between the two, and it looks to be at the very least an entertaining game.
The Basics
Who: Golden State Warriors (41-11) at Denver Nuggets (27-25)
When: 7:00 PM MST
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver CO
How to watch: Altitude
Rival blog: Golden State of Mind
Big Three
No, we’re not talking about Golden State’s trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant (sorry Dray). Against Oklahoma City, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic combined for 87 points, 19 rebounds and 22 assists. While it’s not likely this other-worldly output will occur on a nightly basis (yet), it’s hard not to focus on these three players moving forward. Jokic is looking like his old self again, Murray has scored 30+ points seven times this season and Harris is the definition of consistency. For Nuggets faithful, all eyes are on them moving forward.
Maple Curry
Can’t think of a better individual match up than Steph Curry and Jamal Murray (aka Maple Curry). Per some guy on Twitter named Ryan Blackburn, Murray is now shooting 45.5% FG, 38.1% 3P and 93.1% FT this season, and only one player in history has done that in his first or second season:
Is it unrealistic to think of Murray as Steph-lite? Murray’s ceiling is getting higher and higher as this season progresses, and at just 20 years old it’s not entirely out of the question…
Playoff Potential
As stated earlier, this is the last meeting this season between the Nuggets and Warriors. But as it currently stands, these two teams would face off in the opening round of the playoffs. The atmosphere tonight will certainly mimic a playoff environment, and the thought of an actual series between two of the most prolific offenses in the league is salivating. But first the Nuggets have to get there, and a win tonight would go a long way for Denver’s confidence.
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