Warriors vs Nuggets Preview: Final Tune-Up Before Postseason (Photo: AP Photo/Chris Schneider)
Golden State Warriors (50-31) vs Denver Nuggets (36-44)
Tip-off: Wednesday, April 16th, 2014 – 7:30PM PDT
Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
Spread: Denver (-9), meaning Nuggets are 9-point favorites
TV: CSN Bay Area | Radio: KNBR 680 AM
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors (by @samesfandiari)
Last Game / Streak:
DEN – Lost 117-105 vs LAC in Los Angeles, Lost 1 game in a row
GSW – Won 130-120 vs MIN in Oakland, Won 1 game in a row
Previous Matchup:
4/10/2014 – Denver won 100-99 as Faried hit game winner with .5 seconds left to shock the Warriors in Oakland.
Probable Starting Lineups:
Warriors:
PG: Steve Blake (4.2 PPG, 3.2 APG, 1.8 RPG)
SG: Jordan Crawford (7.6 PPG, 1.3 APG, 1.4 RPG)
SF: Harrison Barnes (9.2 PPG, 1.5 APG, 4.0 RPG)
PF: Marreese Speights (6.4 PPG, 0.4 APG, 3.6 RPG)
C: Hilton Armstrong (1.1 PPG, 0.2 APG, 2.6 RPG)
HEAD COACH: Mark Jackson (120-109)
Blake, Crawford, Barnes, Speights and Armstrong will start for the Warriors vs. Denver.
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) April 16, 2014
Nuggets:
PG: Aaron Brooks (8.8 PPG, 3.2 APG, 1.9 RPG)
SG: Randy Foye (13.0 PPG, 3.4 APG, 2.9 RPG)
SF: Quincy Miller (4.8 PPG, 0.5 APG, 2.7 RPG)
PF: Kenneth Faried (13.6 PPG, 1.2 APG, 8.5 RPG)
C: Timofey Mozgov (9.3 PPG, 0.7 APG, 6.4 RPG)
HEAD COACH: Brian Shaw (36-44)
Curry, Iguodala and Lee will sit tonight. Thompson and Green most likely will sit, according to Jackson.
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) April 16, 2014
Bogut and O'Neal did not travel with the Warriors to Denver.
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) April 16, 2014
Keys To The Game:
1) Box out Mozgov and Faried. Mozgov last time against Golden State had 23 points and 29 rebounds, the 29 rebounds was an NBA season high for any player. Faried posted 18 points and 17 rebounds. A majority of the points these guys scored was off the offensive glass. Getting rebounds will be harder in this game then it was in the last game against Denver for Golden State. The Dubs will be without their leading rebounder, Andrew Bogut as he has a broken rib and is out “indefinitely ”
2) Start off hot and don’t look back. Warriors have a bad tendency to either start off hot and blow the lead or start off bad and let their opponent come back. They need to get a lead and keep it, especially with the rest the starters will be getting. Golden State blew a 20 point lead at home against the Nuggets in their last meeting.
3) Get everyone rest. We locked up the 6th seed, we can’t do better, we can’t do worse. Mark Jackson shouldn’t take any chances by playing Curry and Thompson in the 4th quarter when it is not needed.
Loren Knaster of the Denver Stiffs:
Win or lose, tonight is the final game of Denver’s season. It’s a scenario that can only exist in two forms; the final regular season game for a non-playoff bound team or game seven of the NBA finals. The Nuggets have never sniffed the latter but they’ve also avoided the former for 10 straight seasons. When the Pepsi Center scoreboard hits zero around 11:00pm tonight, it will officially snap the 2nd longest active playoff streak in the NBA (San Antonio Spurs).
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If it’s a consolation to fans, this season finale will be much easier to accept than the ones they’ve come to know over the past decade. (If it’s any consolation to the Pepsi Center maintenance staff, at least it can keep the ice setup once the NHL playoffs start on Thursday).
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It’s fitting that Denver closes its season against Golden State, as it was last year’s playoff series against the team by The Bay that changed the course of the franchise, with an outcome still to be determined. The Nuggets have accomplished twice this year what they weren’t able to achieve in the 2013 postseason; victory in Oakland. Now home, Denver can win the season series against its new rivals with a win.
“It’s nice to see him (Lee) get his legs back and moving well,” said Curry, who is averaging 32.8 points and 10.8 assists in the last five games. “It’s a big-time confidence boost going into the playoffs just the way his body has responded.”
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Curry made 7-of-13 3-pointers for the Warriors, who finished 15-of-37 from beyond the arc. The Warriors set a franchise record with 766 3-pointers this season, eclipsing the previous mark set in 2007-08 (761).
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The Warriors have 50 wins for the first time since the 1993-94 season and are 9-5 in the last 14 games. They are closing the regular season on the road where they have accumulated a 23-17 record.
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A win Wednesday would give the Warriors their most wins since 1991-92 (55).
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