Toronto @ Denver

[corona]

Key Matchup:
v.
Calderon has averaged 13 points and 9 assists a game on great shooting percentages as Toronto's starting point guard. Despite a slightly broken finger, Iverson needs to be aggressive going to the rim and should come with better energy than he has the past few.

Last Meeting: March 23rd, 2007
121-94 Toronto victory
Blowout from midway through the first quarter.
After a close loss to Chicago the night before, it was clear Denver didn't show up.
Raptors were 12/23 from 3, and shot 57% from the field in the game.
Carmelo scored just 10 points, his lowest output since scoring 2 points (and getting injured in the 1st quarter) against New Jersey in November of 2005.

Denver: 38-26
Rank 11th in offense and 6th in defense
Have lost 6 of last 7 road games
Nene has returned to somewhat physical practices, and should return to games soon.
Linas Kleiza has struggled with an ankle/foot strain in the past few weeks but will play.

Keys to winning:
Maintaining a consistent sense of urgency to get into the playoffs and win the division.
Making the extra pass on a consistent basis.
Staying home on shooters
Treating the game like a playoff game in every way, regardless of the opponent.

Last 5 Games:
W Memphis
L San Antonio
L Utah
W San Antonio
W Phoenix

Toronto: 34-30
Rank 7th in offense and 14 in defense
This is the 3rd game in 4 nights for Toronto, and the 3rd game of a 5 game, 7 day Western road trip.
Chris Bosh is sidelined with a knee injury
TJ Ford returned 5 weeks ago from a neck/back injury
Jorge Garbajosa is out, continuing to recover from left ankle surgery.

Last 5 Games:
L Golden State
L Lakers
W Seattle
L Washington
W Miami

Photos:




Game Chat:
http://www.nuggets.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=nuggets&action=chat

Game Notes:
http://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/notes.pdf
http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/notes.pdf

Playoff Picture:
2 games behind Golden State for 8th seed
4 games behind Utah for the division lead (4th seed)

[corona]

defend the 3 and we should make up a full game on Utah (they play @ Boston)

[Don_eMOCION#31]

should be a win. bosh will miss the game due to his knee injurie so they're rebounding will be exremely weakened.

i'm scared of the raptors' superior 3pt shooting but shooting 3's the whole night can't make it a win for them. can't it? oh, i forget about the suns

[Powder Blue]

Babe of the Game..

Sandra B's decent looks were more than enough to get us past Memphis but our matchup tonight will require a little more beauty. This game's selection is the wonderful Emmanuelle Chriqui (no idea how to say it), Mostly know for her role as "Sloan" on the Hit show Entourage, if you haven't seen it you are really missing out, funniest show on TV.

[MHZ]

defend the 3 and we should make up a full game on Utah (they play @ Boston)

It's a shame old Chris Bosh won't be in the lineup tonight. I long for the days when he could have a chat with the fans in the 15th row by virtue of his skyscraper neck.


NBA: Where happens.

[The Boshpit!]

Good luck tonight guys! I've been a HUGE AI fan ver since I was little and can't wait until we pplay him. Obviously without Bosh we are not the same team but we still gave Lakers and Warriors a run for their money. Expect to see a good old fashioned T.J show in the fourth.

[MHZ]

This is a typical Nuggets letdown game. Star player out, all signs point to a comfortable Nuggets victory. I only hope the fact that the Nuggs are currently 9th in the West give them all the motivation they need to come to play every night.

Because of this, I'll take the Nuggets.

[Vinsane15]

GL Nuggets fans!! I love to watch camby play, hes one of my favorite former raptors. Hes going to destroy Bargnani on the boards today...

[el loco]

It's like Corona said, defend the perimeter and we have a great opportunity to win this game. The raptors have not been getting much scoring at all in the paint, so we need to shut down penetration and defend the perimeter.

[Derekman]

You guys don't have to worry about the 3 point line as much. Without Bosh attracting double teams, and with Calderon's hot potatoe basketball, i don't see a lot of open looks coming up.

[Shady08]

GO NUGGETS!

[JRMelo15]

No Bosh, so play 4-1 zone and don't let them take 3's. Go Nuggz!

[DNIsLeGiT]

We should win this game, bosh or no bosh, hopefully before we head out to the east coast we'll have 40 wins by then.

[KRANG]

Please Nuggets underestimate the Raps tonight. pretty please ?

[Don_eMOCION#31]

Please Nuggets underestimate the Raps tonight. pretty please ?

you don't need to pray. the nuggets underestimate every team who isn't on the pace for at least 50 wins

[el loco]

I know in their last two games they tried to run with the Lakers and the Warriors and gave up around 115 to both of them in losses. That is our type of pace, so if we play a good team game of basketball tonight we should come out of this contest with a win. If we just show up, like we have in a few games, it will be tough.

[eathy]

how long until game starts??

[Shady08]

30ish min....

[AI4life07]

Why didn't Camby slam that last attempt? How about that acrobatic shot by Iverson lol that was real sweet!

[eathy]

MC should be traded