Nuggets vs Pelicans
4:00 pm MT, Cox Pavilion
TV: Altitude or NBA TV
Things have not gone swimmingly for the Denver Nuggets here in Las Vegas. Here are the results from their first three games:
July 13th: 88-74 that’s a 14 point loss to the Bucks
July 15th: 93-81 that’s a 12 point loss to the Bulls
July 16th: 97-69 that’s a 28 point loss to the Wizards
Add all that up and Denver has been outscored 278-224 in three games. The Nuggets are the lowest ranking team in the tournament that begins today, the No. 22 seed, and they face the New Orleans Pelicans, the No. 11 seed.
The Pelicans feature second year players Austin Rivers and Brian Roberts, rookies Jeff Withey (Denver Stiffs readers’ favorite!) and Pierre Jackson, and Jon Brockman. Withey has looked pretty good thus far from a defensive standpoint and his volleyball days have helped on some of this athletic blocks.
The Nuggets front-court has been a disappointment thus far with the trio of O.D. Anosike, Rich Howell, and Kyle Barone. The rookies haven’t given the Nuggets much inside presence on offense or on the glass. While Luke Harangody has shown he can score the ball, he too has struggled on the defensive end.
Erick Green has not played as aggressive as advertised and has struggled in various aspects of running the offense, creating space, and in playing defense. He has shown glimpses on the defensive end however, and his outside shot has looked good the past two games – shooting 6-8 from deep (3-4 in each game).
Look how Evan Fournier bounces back from his 7 turnover performance against the Wizards yesterday. Lester Conner pointed out that Fournier has looked uncomfortable with the ball in his hands, so let’s see how he does on drives this afternoon.
Quincy Miller has looked very comfortable playing in the post, on both sides of the ball, but has struggled a bit in decision making with the ball out on the perimeter. He hasn’t been hesitant to shoot in catch-and-shoot situations and we’ll see how he plays today.
If the Nuggets happen to lose today, they will still get in another game on Friday, July 19th.
