The Denver Nuggets will be looking for revenge for the 123-111 loss versus the San Antonio Spurs they suffered on Thursday the 9th. The Nuggets looked tired playing on the second night of a back-to-back and never really got back in the game after an early lead from the Spurs, hopefully, the team used yesterday to rest up. The Nuggets need a win tonight to get to .500 again as they currently are 11-12. Good news for the Nuggets though as tonight’s game will be the last of a 7 game road trip.
The San Antonio Spurs lost their best player to free agency and many people expected the Spurs to be a bad team this year, that hasn’t been fully the case. They make every game competitive and are no easy win. The Spurs are led by Dejounte Murray who is having the best season of his 6 year career. He is averaging a career-high in points, rebounds, assists, 3 pointers made, FG made, and minutes per game.
The Essentials:
Who?: The Denver Nuggets (11-12, 4-9 away) and the San Antonio Spurs (9-15, 5-7 at home)
Where?: The AT&T Center
Where to Watch?: NBA League Pass, Altitude TV (good luck)
Rival Blog: Pounding The Rock
Expected Starters:
San Antonio- PG: Dejounte Murray, SG: Derrick White, SF: Doug McDermott, PF: Keita Bates-Diop, C: Jakob Poeltl
Denver- PG: Monte Morris, SG Will Barton, SF Aaron Gordon, PF: Jeff Green, C: Nikola Jokic
Injuries:
San Antonio: Devin Vassell- Quad (OUT), Keldon Johnson- Ankle (OUT), Zach Collins- Ankle (OUT)
Denver: Jamal Murray- ACL (OUT), Michael Porter Jr.- Back Surgery (OUT), PJ Dozier- ACL (OUT), Austin Rivers- Heath and Safety protocols (OUT), Will Barton- Non-Covid related illness (Probable)
Three Things to Watch For-
The Rebound Battle:
The Nuggets lost the rebound battle 33-54 in their last loss to the Spurs. If the Nuggets want a chance in tonight’s game they will need to keep the Spurs off the glass. The Spurs had 14 offensive rebounds to the Nuggets 5 in that loss as well. Nikola Jokic was the only Nugget with more than 4 rebounds, one of Aaron Gordon or Jeff Green needs to have a good rebounding game.
Bones Hyland:
After briefly entering the leagues Health and Safety protocols Bones has struggled since coming back. Bones said that he doesn’t quite feel like he has his legs under him yet after spending a week in a hotel room quarantined. In one of these games, he’s gonna be back like he never left. Bones has shot a combined 1-6 from three since his return, we all know he won’t keep that percentage up.
Free Throws:
The Nuggets have the lowest free throw attempts per game among any team in the NBA, the Spurs rank in at 29th though. In the last meeting between these teams, the Spurs shot 22 free throws compared to the Nuggets 13. The Nuggets ended up shooting a higher percentage than the Spurs but the winner of the game will likely be the team who shoots more free throws. While we don’t know who the referees will be for the game yet, I don’t think I’m alone in wishing for anyone but Tony Brothers.
What’s Next?:
The Nuggets will take on the Washington Wizards in Denver on Monday the 13th. This will be the team’s first matchup of the season and the Nuggets’ first home game of December. The Wizards are a surprisingly good team this year so that game won’t be one to miss.
