Denver @ Detroit

[corona]

Key Matchup:
v.
Iverson's been playing pretty well and efficiently since breaking his finger last week. He'll need to continue that and be ultra-aggressive going to the rim for Denver to come out ahead.

Last Meeting: February 25th, 2008
98-93 Detroit victory
Carmelo & Iverson combined to shoot just 15/39 from the field
Denver shot just 36% from the field and 29% from 3
Prince, Hamilton and Billups scored 20 apiece

Denver: 40-26
Rank 11th in offense and 5th in defense
Have lost 5 of last 6 road games
This is the first game of a 5 game eastern roadtrip
Atkins appears to be back and more in rhythm after going 5/8 from 3 against both Toronto and Seattle
Nene has returned to somewhat physical practices, and should return to games within two weeks.

Keys to winning:
Not getting overconfident, regardless of how much you beat up on bad opponents.
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 Seattle
W Toronto
W Memphis
L San Antonio
L Utah

Detroit: 48-18
Jarvis Hayes recorded a career high 29 points against the Hornets on Sunday
Lindsay Hunter is scheduled to return against Cleveland on Wednesday
Everyone's healthy

Last 5 Games:
W New Orleans
W San Antonio
L Philadelphia
W Chicago
W New York

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/pistons/news/notes.pdf

Playoff Picture: (as of sunday night)
1.5 games behind Golden State for 8th seed
3 games behind Utah for the division lead (4th seed)

[pickaxe]

I heard Keira's coming on the road trip.

[el loco]

They have a good young bench. It isn't just the starting 5 anymore. This will be a very tough game for us. A win in this game could give the team the confidence to win all 5, a loss and I think we go 3-2.

Prince will give Melo some fits. Their starting guards are bigger. They are one of the best teams in the league. It should be a good measuring stick to see just how far the offense has come through this recent offensive outburst because Detroit will probably control the pace of the game.

[el loco]

I heard Keira's coming on the road trip.

I am thinking that maybe she does

[pickaxe]

They have a good young bench. It isn't just the starting 5 anymore. This will be a very tough game for us. A win in this game could give the team the confidence to win all 5, a loss and I think we go 3-2.

Prince will give Melo some fits. Their starting guards are bigger. They are one of the best teams in the league. It should be a good measuring stick to see just how far the offense has come through this recent offensive outburst because Detroit will probably control the pace of the game.

Agreed. Especially when juxtaposed with the type of home win we just had. To tone it down but keep the pressure on will be a good sign of being ready for the playoffs.

[The Answer_CO]

It will be tough, but it can be done.
Hopefully, Nuggets come out with right mind set.

[Nuggetsfanduh98]

man i hope ratlift don't get melo on a fastbreak 1 on 1

[Texas Longhorns]

You guys have 305 total points in your last two games, that's crazy!

[Powder Blue]

Can't go with the same girl for two games so i'm gonna throw another one up, had to pick one with a little more meat on her bones.

[milehigh]

Come out pissed off like they did against Seattle, biggest game of the year in my opinion lets come out on top!

[JRMelo15]

Nuggets definitely need to carry this confidence in Detroit's game... We'll need to score points for sure and set our rhytm for the game, if we play Detroit's rhythm of the game, we'll have a tough time winning.

[JEWELZ]

this is a crucial game, hopefully we come out firing

[corona]

need more keira

[MELO4MVP]

we can easily catch up to the Mavs. I don't know if we win this game. I got us going 4-1 on this trip. The team is to stupid to beat Detroit and Philly on back to back nights.

[Don_eMOCION#31]

need more keira

I heard Keira's coming on the road trip.

here's what you all been waitin for!





by the way boys, the RED HOT NUGGETS

[DNIsLeGiT]

This game is big, need to start off this trip on a high note, hopefully they'll win, most importlantly though is how the nuggets starts the games, if they start it off good then normally they end the game well too.

The bench needs to step up, detroit is a good defensive team so they would want to shut down carmelo and ai, so the bench needs to provide us with some scoring like they have at home, hopefully jr and atkins continue to stroke the 3s and play well.

[el loco]

If we play unselfish basketball like the way we have in the past 3 games, then we should have a good chance at winning this game. If Melo, AI, or both tries to do it alone and control the majority of the shot clock without getting the rest of the team involved, we lose.

[MELO4MVP]

if we win this game we lose to the sixers and vice versa. team is to stupid to always be focused

[Don_eMOCION#31]

if we win this game we lose to the sixers and vice versa. team is to stupid to always be focused

i doubt we'll lose IN philadelphia. this is iversons first return to his old home, he'll be even more motivated than in the game we played the sixers in denver. what did iversons stats look like... 38 pts and 8 assists on 14-25 shooting?



i think we can convert this into a great winning streak if we win in detroit

[corona]

yea, i have a fair amount of confidence in iverson willing the team to a victory in philly.

not sure about this game though