Sixers @ Nuggets Game Preview (3/21/13)

Following a blow-out loss to the Clippers Tuesday night, Philadelphia will board a quick flight to Denver to take on the Nuggets.  Unfortunately for the Sixers, Denver is tied with Miami for the best home record in the NBA at 30-3.  The Nuggets play at the second fastest pace in the NBA, using a deep roster of quick, rangy wing players to jump the passing lanes and get out in the open court.  The mile-high altitude makes this style of play even more dangerous when the Nuggets are at home, as opponents find it even more difficult to keep up with Denver at the Pepsi Center.

Denver has played exceptionally well of late, with Miami’s historic winning streak overshadowing the fact that the Nuggets are on a run of 13 straight of their own.  The run has propelled them into a three-way tie for the 3rd seed in the Western Conference.  Denver knows how valuable home court advantage in the playoffs will be given their dominance at home and are unlikely to take any game lightly.  Denver’s last game was an impressive road over the Thunder; the Nuggets have seemingly figured out things on the defensive end, as their 98.6 defensive rating during the win streak would rank 3rd best in the NBA over the course of the season.  If Denver has figured out things on that end of the floor, the rest of the league should be on watch.

The Sixers defeated Denver in the opening game of the season, but that was a completely different Denver team that was without an injured Danilo Gallinari and still learning how to play with new acquisition Andre Iguodala.  The Nuggets have all hands on deck and Iguodala is putting up his usual stat-stuffing numbers at 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game.  Look for him to step up to try and earn his first win against his former team.

Keys to the Game:

• Limit the turnovers. If the Sixers hold on to the ball like they did last night in Los Angeles, they’ll be blown off the court.  The way to beat Denver is to prevent them from getting out on the fast break and force them to score out of their half court sets, where they can struggle at times.
• Keep Denver off the offensive glass.  Denver has the 2nd highest offensive rebounding rate in the league, led by Kenneth Faried and Kosta Koufos.  Thad Young, especially, will need to concentrate on that area of the game to deal with the strength and tenacity of Faried.

Prediction:

Denver is far too dangerous at home, and Philadelphia struggles far too much on the road, for the Sixers to pull out a victory on the tail end of a back-to-back.  Andre Iguodala tallies a near-triple-double against his old team as the Nuggets cruise to a victory.