Stump the Stiffs Week 2: 11-6-15

Welcome to week 2 of Stump the Stiffs! Exciting stuff this week as StS goes full speed by involving commenters from here on the site as well as the Denver Nuggets sub-reddit. Representing the Denver Stiffs writers is the incomparable Mike Olson, the Stiffs commenters are represented by long time commenter Patrick Rasmussen and from the Denver Nuggets sub-reddit we have dms0912!

We’ve got an uphill battle for our Nuggets as they will take on the Warriors on the second night of a back to back, an inter-conference match up and a shot at determining the level of futility the Colorado Buffaloes will have with the Stanford Cardinal in college football. Let’s get to the picks!

Mike Olson (@visiblemike): Geez, I’d love to pick the Denver Nuggets here, but even my homerism won’t allow me to pick against the current Warriors machine, especially with the uneven performances the Nuggets will be throwing out as they continue to gel. I picked the Kings as the home team, as they’ve given a couple of good teams some tough moments in losses, but both teams have been so spotty that no result would surprise me. The Heat have looked solid early, and the Pacers don’t seem to have their stuff together just yet. The Pistons are shocking me, but the Suns aren’t the test they need to see if they’re real, so I’m betting Detroit takes that game handily. Stanford has been impressive early, and Christian McCaffrey will view all of this as a homecoming. I’d probably still pick the over if the line were 21.5. Over over over.

Patrick Rasumussen: No one expects the Nuggets to get a win in probably the toughest place in the NBA to procure a victory, and on the second night of a back to back, against the rested world champions, and with only one healthy, rotational big (Faried) in action, I’m no different. Montrezl Harrell and Marcus Thornton have been filling in capably for the injury depleted Rockets, and should be enough to counter Karl’s Kings and Cousin’s achilles heel. The Pacers are getting a solid contribution from Paul George and are home after a night off, and I’ll give this one to Indy. The Suns have the length necessary to at least attempt to keep Andre Drummond in check with Tyson Chandler and Alex Len roaming the paint. This one could go either way, but I give the edge to Phoenix. Eddie Mac’s boy Christian will run roughshod all over the Buffs defense, but in the fruitlessly-dramatic comeback fashion the Buffs have displayed over the past two seasons, and as recently as last week, they will cover the spread.

dms0912: I picked Warriors because they are simply the best team in basketball right now. I do not think the Nuggets will be able to do too much, especially with injuries to some of our key guys. Rockets because they need this win to get back on track. Also, Boogie is most likely out and I do not see them winning without him. Pacers because this is the Heat’s second game of a back to back. This was a tough pick for me because I feel like Heat are the better team, but the new players are still learning to play together. Also, Paul George has yet to have a “huge” game and I think he is due. I picked the Pistons because they are playing extremely well right now. They have beaten some good teams while the Suns only tough match up was against the Clippers, which they lost. For the Buffs/Stanford game, I’ll take the over. I do not know much about college football but I know Stanford is supposed to be a much better team.

If you're keeping score:

Writer's season record: 2-3

Stiffs commenters season record: 3-2

Reddit commenters season record: 3-2

And there you have it! Keep letting the moderators or our buddy Alec Gwin (@alecgwin) know if you want to take part in the contest and prove your place as a sports Nostradamus!