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| (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) |
Denver Nuggets
Record: 2-7, t-13th in the Western Conference
Offense: 101.1 offensive rating (21st)
Defense: 107.3 defensive rating (25th)
The Last Result(s)
We could talk about The Good and The Bad for this section, but we chose not to since they have already matched up against the Cavs. We'll save those for teams the Cavs play the first time.
It was only 10 days ago that these two team faced off in Denver, with the Cavs coming out on top 110-101. We wrote about it here, but if you don't want to read it, that's okay.
The win for the Cavs was the start of their current four-game winning streak. It was also the start of an offense tear for the Cavs, playing at the level many thought they would be at after a rough start to the season (it was only four games, but still). After a loss to the Utah Jazz the night before, where as a team they only dished out six assists, the Cavs had 25 assists against the Nuggets, led by LeBron James' 11, while also having seven guys in double figures.
This game was mostly out of reach until late in the fourth quarter, when Denver cut a double-digit deficit down to six with three minutes left, but were unable to get over the hump once head coach David Blatt put the starters back in the game. Outside of that stretch in the fourth, this game was all Cleveland.
Denver struggled from the tip, giving up 38 points to the Cavs in the first, and looked bad for the first three quarters. This came, however, without their best player, point guard Ty Lawson, who was out with an ankle injury.
The Matchup to Watch
Tristan Thompson vs Kenneth Faried
I don't know how much of this pairing we will see throughout the game, but this is one to keep an eye on. Both of these players have very similar games and are always fun to watch battle on the boards. Any time a shot goes up with these guys on the court, there is most likely a 70 percent chance that one of these guys will grab the miss.
The Playlist
Not much music comes out of Colorado, at least now much that defines the Colorado culture, according to this page. We were blessed with the musical talents of OutKast in our Atlanta playlist, but we are at an unfortunate decision with Denver. Luckily, the combination of Colorado being one of the few states that legalize marijuana and my obsession of Kanye West over the last few weeks has brought us to one song, and one song only:Why Cleveland will win
If you watched the last game between these teams, it's a hard to find a reason that the Cavs will lose this game. Denver are a poor defensive team, while the Cavs offense has looked like Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl. Basically, if the Big 3 play their normal games, the Cavs should roll to their fifth consecutive victory.
Why Denver will win
The Cavs defense is improving, but they are still far away from being where Blatt wants them to be. As of now, they rank 26th in defensive rating, and all it takes for Denver is to hit plenty of shots, both open and contested (i.e., Boston last week). Lawson could (and probably should) cause problems for Kyrie Irving, who tends to struggle against quicker guards. If Denver shoots in the 54-57 percent range from the field, it will be hard for the Cavs to rely on their offense again in order to win a game.
The Prediction
Cavs 122, Nuggets 103
Unless LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin Love STRUGGLE in this game, it is gonna be extremely hard for the Cavs to lose this one. With the Cavs offense getting better and better each game and Denver's defense being one of the worst in the league, the current four-game winning streak should continue after this game is all said and done.
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