SB Nation Denver: All Posts by Andrew Feinstein

The morning after ...

2013-05-03T15:06:31Z

At game's end, the mass exodus happened so quickly at Jake's Food & Spirits last night that I could barely shake the hands of the 150-plus Stiffs that had arrived hours before for a thrilling Game 6.

92-88.

Nuggets lose.

Again.

Ninth time in 10 years in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Of the nine first round exits we've witnessed since 2004, this one hurts the most. Not only had our Denver Nuggets won an NBA franchise-best 57 regular season games (including a franchise best 15 straight wins), but this band of Nuggets players captured our hearts as fans unlike any Nuggets team since the 1993-94 squad that also had that incredible sense of "teamness" about it, as head coach George Karl likes to say. This current Nuggets team had virtually no ego, no pretension and no arrogance about it and yet it was able to embrace every challenge thrown in front of them: the brutal early season schedule with an unreasonable number of road games and back-to-backs, injuries to key players including Wilson Chandler, Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari, fearsome Western Conference opposition (at least five teams in the west won at least 56 games), and so forth.

Moreover, the 2012-13 Denver Nuggets were well positioned for a long playoff run. Not only were the Nuggets seeded third overall against an upstart Golden State Warriors team that won 10 less games than they did, but an aging, potentially vulnerable San Antonio Spurs squad awaited in Round 2 and a Russell Westbrook-less, James-Harden-less Oklahoma City Thunder team - if they survive their own first round series, thanks to Harden wearing the opponent's uniform now - potentially awaited in the conference finals.

But instead, the most inspiring of seasons went up in smoke thanks to an uninspiring playoff performance. Allowing the underdog Warriors to get the best of them early and often in their first round playoff matchup, the Nuggets ceded that valuable home court advantage by dropping Game 2 at Pepsi Center and then compounded the problem by playing poorly in Game 4 at Oakland, turning a blowout victory into a close call in Game 5 back in Denver and showing up for just the early and very late parts of Game 6 last night.

And while there's objectively no question that the referees inexcusably botched two late calls in Game 6, the Nuggets ultimately have only themselves to blame for putting themselves in a position to let a playoff series be determined by a bad call or two. (I'll be eternally befuddled by the out-of-bounds call in particular as it was reviewed on slow motion replay and was still called incorrectly. Making matters worse, in recapping the game NBATV's post-game show made no mention of how close that call was ... meaning the NBA is trying to sweep the issue under the rug.)

Simply put, you can't win a road game (or even a home game) in the NBA playoffs while shooting a season-worst 34.7% from the field, missing 21 three-pointers, missing eight free throws and being out-rebounded by 11. As I said to my colleague Nate Timmons while watching Corey Brewer chuck errant three-pointer after errant three-pointer last night: "Are the refs taking those shots? Are the refs forcing Karl to keep Brewer in the game?"

And yet, somehow the Nuggets put themselves in a position to tie the game late had the referees just done their job right. That doesn't mean the Nuggets would have necessarily won Game 6, of course, but they'd at least have had an overtime opportunity.

But after sleeping on this loss and pouring over the Game 6 statistics one more time, it's clear to me that the Warriors had the Nuggets number. So concerned were the Nuggets about containing point guard Stephen Curry and his guard teammates Jarrett Jack and Klay Thompson (who collectively shot 11-37 from the field and turned the ball over 11 times), that they allowed center Andrew Bogut to kill them inside with 14 points (on 7-10 shooting), 21 rebounds and four blocks. Bogut quickly reminded everyone why he's a former number one overall draft pick and why JaVale McGee and Kosta Koufos remain works in progress.

The Warriors are now 5-0 in first round series since 1978 when they're the underdog. Like their playoff-upsetting predecessors before them, the Warriors played loose and had their favored opponent on its heels early. And most unfortunately, like their playoff-disappointing predecessors before them, our favored Nuggets couldn't take advantage of controlling home court in the first round ... something they worked so hard to claim in the regular season. The Nuggets are now 2-8 all-time (in the NBA) in Game 6's, 1-2 under Coach Karl (I'm not including the Game 6 loss on Adrian Dantley's watch in 2010 which officially makes Karl's Denver playoff record 1-3 in Game 6's).

In the days and weeks to come, we'll analyze where the Nuggets go from here and continually question what could have been as the Warriors get trounced by the Spurs in Round 2 and Kevin Durant's Thunder get beaten up by a Memphis Grizzlies squad the Nuggets were able to best during the regular season in three out of four games. Our Nuggets should have been a part - a big part - of the NBA's second round playoff dance card in 2013. But alas, they will not. And it's not because of the referees.

It's because the Nuggets picked a bad time to forget how they won 57 games.

THIS THURSDAY: Stiffs Night Out for Game 6

2013-04-30T21:05:46Z

Many of our readers have been asking - make that demanding - a 10th Stiffs Night Out for this first round playoff series. Due to overconfidence and cockiness (and me being out of town for Game 3), we had originally decided to hold off until Round 2.

Big mistake.

But now the Stiffs Karma could be exactly what the Nuggets need if they're to deliver a Game 7 opportunity in Denver this Saturday. That all starts, of course, with the Nuggets winning Game 6 at Oakland on Thursday.

Thus, there WILL BE A STIFFS NIGHT OUT for Game 6 Thursday (8:30pm MDT tipoff). As usual, our host location will be Jake's Food & Spirits and Jake's will be serving up $1 street tacos and $2 bartender's choice cocktails for us.

While the Nuggets are just 5-4 on SNOs, the Stiffs Karma has proven strong in the past, notably lifting the Nuggets over the Lakers in Game 5 of their first round series last year and almost delivering a Nuggets victory against the Thunder in the playoffs in 2011.

Date	Nuggets	vs	Opponent	W/L	Overtime	Record
2/5/10	Nuggets 126	at	Lakers 113	W		1-0
11/6/10	Nuggets 103	at	Mavericks 92	W		2-0
2/25/11	Nuggets 106	at	Blazers 107	L	Overtime	2-1
4/27/11	Nuggets 97	at	Thunder 103	L		2-2
1/21/12	Nuggets 119	at	Knicks 114	W	Double OT	3-2
5/8/12	Nuggets 102	at	Lakers 99	W		4-2
11/3/12	Nuggets 116	at	Heat 119	L		4-3
12/9/12	Nuggets 106	at	Knicks 112	L		4-4
3/19/13	Nuggets 114	at	Thunder 1104	W		5-4

So root hard for the Nuggets to win tonight and we'll see our fellow Stiffs at Jake's THIS Thursday! You can RSVP in the comments here or on our Facebook event page.

Go Nuggets!!

History is squarely against the Nuggets now

2013-04-29T14:00:16Z

"We don't always make the playoffs. But when we do, we win our first round series." - Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have suddenly become the most interesting franchise in the world. Having appeared in just seven post-seasons since 1978 (including this year), the Warriors have been the underdog five times - once as a five-seed (1987), twice as a seventh-seed (1989 and 1991), once as an eighth-seed (2007) and now as sixth-seed. In the previous four times the Warriors have been a first round underdog, they have won the series by going small against teams with better big men who panicked and adjusted to the Warriors by going small themselves. And it has never worked for the higher seed.

That's four-for-four for the Warriors, Nuggets fans.

Add that to the fact that only eight teams in NBA history have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series, none since 2006, and things aren't looking good for our Denver Nuggets. And in a post-season with a weakened Oklahoma City Thunder, an injured, irrelevant, erratic Los Angeles Lakers and an aging San Antonio Spurs, no less.

Talk about a wasted opportunity.

That said, of the eight teams in NBA history to overcome that 3-1 deficit the last three - the 2006 Phoenix Suns, the 2003 Detroit Pistons and the 1997 Miami Heat - all had home court advantage, just as Denver does. Meaning, the Nuggets pathway to a unlikely series win requires two home wins and just one road win. Not an insurmountable task by any means, which is why I think it's premature to talk about the future of this Nuggets team or where this Nuggets team ranks among the great Nuggets teams of all time until the series, or (god forbid) its successor, is over.

Of the few previous examples of a higher seed overcoming a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series, both the Suns in 2006 and the Pistons in 2003 provide the best blueprint for Denver. Facing a 3-1 deficit thanks to a red hot Kobe Bryant and his Lakers, the 2006 Suns trounced the Lakers at Phoenix in Game 5, gutted out an overtime thriller at Staples Center in Game 6 and then the Lakers, with their spirit crushed - including Bryant - laid down for the Suns in a blowout Game 7. In that catalyst Game 5, the Suns were able to let Bryant and Lamar Odom go off while their role-player teammates struggled and their confidence was never regained.

Similar to the Suns facing Bryant (and our Nuggets now being tested thoroughly by Stephen Curry), the 2003 Pistons had to deal with an emerging superstar themselves in the form of Tracy McGrady, who stupidly said "It feels good to get in the second round" after leading his underdog Orlando Magic to a 3-1 series lead. Using that quote as bulletin board material, the Pistons - devoid of a superstar but deep and talented like today's Nuggets - decimated McGrady and the Magic in Game 5 (they held the Magic to 67 points!) ... and then blew the Magic out in Games 6 and 7, as well.

Point being, if our Nuggets are to somehow win their first round series against the upstart Warriors and their star, Curry, the Nuggets must destroy their hopes and dreams in emphatic fashion in Game 5 or there won't be a Game 7 at Pepsi Center. But what concerns me is that this Nuggets team - unlike their Phoenix and Detroit predecessors - have clearly lost their way, just as many higher seeds have in the past when ceding ground, and confidence, to lower seeds. For some unknown and unfathomable reason, the Nuggets have allowed a lesser experienced, lesser talented, and lesser coached team to dictate this series from Game 1 onward. Frankly, the Nuggets are lucky they get to play a fifth game on Tuesday night inside the friendly confines of the Pepsi Center because this series should have been a Warriors sweep.

How did we get here?

For starters, Nuggets head coach George Karl too quickly gave up on his big men even though the Nuggets were among NBA regular season leaders in "playoff categories" like points-in-the-paint, field goal percentage, rebounds, blocked shots and second chance opportunities. Starting center Kosta Koufos (who contributed solidly all season long) and backup center JaVale McGee (who was THE reason the Nuggets took the Lakers to seven games last season despite being down 3-1) look completely lost and their confidence is clearly shot as Karl has gone to playing small in this series to counter the Warriors "small ball." This has allowed the Warriors to get into the paint at will with no consequences while preventing the Nuggets from getting second chance opportunities - again, their regular season specialty. Meanwhile, the Warriors front line - sans David Lee, mind you! - of Andrew Bogut and Carl Landry have been killing the Nuggets inside offensively.

Secondly, by bringing out the giant stage hook for his bigs so early in the series, the problem has been compounded by having the aging Andre Miller playing defense on the Warriors' red hot little guards like Stephen Curry and Jarrett Jack. Slow to switch, Miller's defensive deficiencies have allowed the Warriors to exploit one of the Nuggets great weaknesses: defending the three ball. And even if Miller and his teammates get to the switch on the three-point shooter, the shooter then has a clear path to the basket because there's no big to punish the Warriors for going inside. I'd rather take my chances with Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer defending Curry and Jack.

Thirdly, during various Warriors runs in each game, Karl has failed to call timeouts to stem the tide against his team. So not only is Karl's gambling, gimmicky defense not shutting down the Warriors offense, but Karl isn't calling timeouts for his players to regroup and the Warriors to (presumably) cool off. The NBA gives you too many timeouts for a reason, after all.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, Karl has abruptly changed his strategy to match the Warriors rather than force the Warriors to change their game to match the Nuggets. Being taller and having a deeper bench, the Nuggets should have dictated this series from the opening tip of Game 1 with hard-nosed, physical playoff basketball that forces turnovers and hard-fouls would-be layups by the opposition. Instead, the Warriors went small and the Nuggets went into scramble mode - and it hasn't worked. Simply put, the Warriors have never been punished for going small and instead have run all over the Nuggets. And it's embarrassing to watch.

Adding insult to the history lesson that the Nuggets are partaking in right now is the emergence of Curry, the rich man's Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Teaching us all once again that the team with the best player, not better players, usually wins a playoff series, Curry's coming out party is making many All-Star Game voters second guess their Curry snub right now. The kid if fabulous and the Nuggets apparently have no answer for him ... despite Ty Lawson's gutty effort in each game.

To recap, here's what the Nuggets are up against if they're to win a series they were supposed to take easily in the first place ...

... 1) the Nuggets will need to become the ninth team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series. Out of the 210 series in which one team had a 3-1 series lead, only eight didn't win the series.

... 2) the Nuggets will need to end the Warriors streak of four straight playoff series won from the underdog position.

...3) the Nuggets will need to shut down Curry, who's solely proving once again why superstars win playoff series and collections of good players typically stay home in May and June.

If the Nuggets had competed in Game 4, or had any semblance of a decent strategy in Games 1 through 4, I'd have a lot more confidence heading into Game 5 given that the Nuggets ultimately have home court advantage. (And lest we forget that Karl led the Nuggets from a 3-1 deficit to a Game 7 at the Lakers last season.) But if Karl insists on sitting his bigs and continuing to play gambling defense on the perimeter with the aging Miller, that much-needed Game 5 blowout seems like a stretch. And to be clear, simply winning Game 5 isn't enough for the Nuggets to win the series: Game 5 has to be a confidence-shaking decimation of the Golden State Warriors.

If not, the 2012-13 Denver Nuggets will be relegated to the dustbin of NBA history ... early again ... along with virtually every other Nuggets team from the Karl Era.

Warriors vs. Nuggets Game 2 recap: No sweep for you!

2013-04-24T05:45:03Z

Did George Karl's body get suddenly taken over by the spirit of Paul Westhead?

Somehow, someway our Denver Nuggets allowed an opponent to score 131 points ... in Denver ... in a @#$%& playoff game ... in 2013!!

Exploiting the Nuggets two biggest weaknesses - free throw shooting and defending the three - the Golden State Warriors trounced our Nuggets squad, with the resulting loss feeding into the skeptics who for months claimed that the Nuggets style of basketball wouldn't translate into post-season success. And while I hate to overreact to one game, there are certainly plenty of reasons over these first two games to become skeptical ourselves of the Nuggets ability to win a playoff series this year.

Simply put, the Nuggets were lucky to win Game 1 and the same flaws exposed in that game were shown in the brightest of lights in Game 2: inability to make free throws, lack of consistent rotations, struggles defending the opponent's three-point shots, stagnant offense when the game slows down, and so on.

In my Game 2 preview, I highlighted three areas that the Nuggets needed to tackle to secure a victory: flip the rebounding advantage around, don't rely on Andre Miller and contain Stephen Curry. In two of those three areas (the rebounding and the Curry containment plan), the Nuggets failed miserably in Game 2. Playing without their BEST rebounder in All-Star power forward David Lee, the Warriors managed to out-rebound the Nuggets by 10. And through three quarters before turning his oft-injured ankle, Curry absolutely torched the Nuggets. When Karl recently said that "Curry is the best shooter I've ever seen", he wasn't kidding.

Unfortunately for Karl and the Nuggets, it wasn't only Curry who was red hot on Tuesday night. Klay Thompson, Jarrett Jack and Harrison Barnes all scored north of 20 points. I'll have to do some digging, but when was the last four players on the same team scored at least 20 points in a playoff game? It's practically unheard of. And, yes, while the Warriors were admittedly hot - perhaps abnormally so - the Nuggets ( )efense allowed them to be. Falling for screens, failing to switch and paying little attention to the trajectory of missed shots, the Nuggets played defense like a collection of chickens with their heads cut off. Hence the Warriors 131-point outburst.

Unable to put a lineup together to produce one of the offensive "waves" that the 2012-13 Nuggets had become known for - especially at home - Karl went with a small lineup for much of the second half and found his diminutive cast of players unable to grab a damn rebound or defend the paint. Should Karl have given JaVale McGee (a possible game-changer, but you never know) more playing time? Should Karl have been more patient with Kosta Koufos (who was largely worthless tonight)? Those decisions will be debated here endlessly until Friday night's Game 3 tips off.

But it wasn't just Karl's lineup decisions that cost the Nuggets Game 2. Wilson Chandler - normally a stalwart at the small forward position - all but disappeared throughout the game. Andre Iguodala played terrific in the first quarter, but he too disappeared from quarters two through four. And in the few minutes bestowed upon McGee and Koufos, the big man duo was largely ineffective, combining for just five rebounds total and not blocking a single shot.

With the Nuggets sitting in the three-spot, winning 10 more games than the Warriors in the regular season and with the Warriors playing sans Lee (and Curry getting hurt in the second half), this has to go down as one of the more disappointing Nuggets playoff games in franchise history. But it's only Game 2 and it's not like the Nuggets are down 0-2. What we do know is this: for two games, the Nuggets have been out-coached, out-hustled and outright out-played by a supposedly inferior opponent. The Nuggets now have three days to remember why they're supposed to be the better team if they're to steal Game 3 or 4 at Oakland in front of an amp'd up Warriors fan base. A difficult, but not insurmountable, task.

The view from the not-so-cheap-seats ...

... shockingly, the one big man Karl got some production out of was Anthony Randolph, who made five of his six field goal attempts and finished with 14 points.

... Barnes couldn't shoot straight all season, and yet he had his career high of 24 points in Game 2. With Curry being so hot through the first three quarters, I think the Nuggets took their eye off his teammates in the latter half of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter.

... Andre Miller remains a crafty, durable veteran. Whatever slight chance the Nuggets had to win Game 2 was thanks largely to Miller.

... my seatmate had the best quote I've heard all season long when he noted that "Corey Brewer is the black Bill Hanzlik." And a la Hanzlik. Brewer pest'd his way into another decent game despite the loss.

... Faried, recovering from an ankle sprain, just didn't look right. He probably needs another game to get back to his true self on the floor.

... oddly, after turning his ankle Curry was escorted to the locker room but never went in. He turned around, came back onto the floor, and sunk another three-pointer. Did I mention that Curry is awesome?

... when the highlight of the game is Rocky the mascot making his behind-the-back, half court three-point shot, you know you're in trouble.

... yet again, the Nuggets struggled from the free throw line, making just 28 of their 37 attempts. If I'm Mark Jackson, I'd keep telling my guys to foul, foul and foul some more in Game 3.

... even Draymond Green (who?) and Festus Ezeli (who?!) played solidly for Golden State.

... a number of fair weather Nuggets fans left for the exits halfway through the fourth quarter. Disappointing.

... Jimmy Goldstein was in the house, sitting courtside with Warriors owner Peter Guber. If you don't know who Jimmy Goldstein is, you should.

Non-Stiff of the Game

-Stephen Curry: Not only did Curry torch the Nuggets, but the mere threat of his presence enabled his teammates to go off on Denver practically undefended. Somewhere, Dell Curry is smiling from ear to ear.

Stiff of the Game

-Wilson Chandler: Unfocused throughout the game, Chandler was never able to impact this game offensively and it killed Denver. In addition to shooting 4-15 from the field, Chandler's +/- was -20. I trust Chandler will play much better in Game 3 and be more aggressive to boot.

Parting Shot

Because the 2012-13 Denver Nuggets won so many "we have no business winning this game" games (including Game 1 of this playoff series), I fear that the coaching staff, the players and we as fans have become somewhat arrogant by thinking that they will always find a way to win no matter what. Game 2 proved to be a rude awakening that perhaps was needed.

Game 2 of this Nuggets/Warriors series actually reminded me of Karl's 1995-96 Seattle Supersonics team that lost to the lowly Sacramento Kings - in Seattle - in Game 2 of their 1996 first round series. Coming off two straight early playoff exits, Sonics fans everywhere bemoaned "here we go again!" But Karl was able to regroup his Sonics team, win the next two games at Sacramento, win the series and march to the NBA Finals.

Point being, sometimes a Game 2 loss can prove to be a catalyst for a long playoff run. But if the Nuggets are to have such a run, they better figure out a way to contain Curry and the Warriors ... immediately.

Warriors vs. Nuggets Game 2: Post-game thread

2013-04-24T05:15:03Z

Leave your post-game comments here in the aftermath of Game 2.

Warriors vs. Nuggets Game 2: 2nd half thread

2013-04-24T03:50:05Z

Are the Nuggets on their way to a 2-0 lead?

Warriors vs. Nuggets Game 2: 1st half thread

2013-04-24T02:30:05Z

How are the Warriors responding without All-Star power forward David Lee?

Warriors vs. Nuggets Game 2 preview: Nuggets must take advantage of good fortune

2013-04-23T13:00:14Z

2012/2013 NBA Playoffs First Round: Game 2
	vs
0-1 (0-1 on road)	1-0 DEN	1-0 (1-0 at home)
April 23rd, 2013 - 8:30 PM (MT)
Pepsi Center - Denver, CO
Altitude / TNT / 950 AM / 104.3 FM The Fan
Probable Starters
Stephen Curry	PG	Ty Lawson
Klay Thompson	SG	Evan Fournier
Harrison Barnes	SF	Andre Iguodala
Carl Landry	PF	Wilson Chandler
Andrew Bogut	C	Kosta Koufos
Notes
Golden State of Mind	Blogs	Denver Stiffs
David Lee (hip) and Brandon Rush are out	Injuries	Kenneth Faried (ankle) is probable, Danilo Gallinari (ACL) is out
On two days rest during the regular season, the Warriors were just 4-4.	Stat	There is a HUGE statistical historical advantage when winning Game 1 at home ... but let's not jinx anything.

If the Denver Nuggets have one Achilles heel it's their putrid free throw shooting (evident by finishing third from last in team free throw shooting for the regular season). The Nuggets' ineptness from the charity stripe reared its ugly head in Game 1 of their first round series against the Golden State Warriors when the Nuggets missed 10 of their freebie attempts, despite being afforded 13 more attempts than their opponent. And yet, despite that (and despite missing 13 three-pointers, being out-rebounded by 10 and being out-assisted by 11), the Nuggets - as they've done all season long - found a way to win.

Game 2 shouldn't be nearly as difficult.

Not only will the Warriors be without All-Star power forward David Lee (a HUGE loss) for the remainder of the series, but one has to assume that the Nuggets can't shoot nearly as poorly from the free throw line and three-point range as they did in Game 1. Moreover, the Nuggets should have the services back of their own starting power forward - Kenneth Faried - making Golden State's life tougher than it already was.

Watching Game 1, it was as if Warriors head coach Mark Jackson studied those Spurs / Nuggets series from 2005 and 2007 when the Spurs simply shut down the Nuggets high-energy, fast-paced offense by lulling the game into a half court setting and daring the Nuggets to make jumpers. Something, remarkably, that no Nuggets team has been particularly good at during the George Karl Era.

But with Lee out of the picture, the Nuggets should be able to dictate the game's pace much better than was done in Game 1. Backup power forward Carl Landry will likely fill in admirably for Lee. But after Landry, the Warriors have ... well ... uh ... not much. And the Warriors can't ask much more from center Andrew Bogut after Bogut sat out most of the season due to injures (which is par for the course for the oft-injured Australian).

After the Nuggets were beset by injuries all season long to key players including Faried, Ty Lawson, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, I suppose they were due for some good fortune. Now it's time to take advantage of it by making free throws and dictating a frenetic pace that the short-handed Warriors won't be able to keep up with.

Three things to look for in this game ...

1) Flip the rebounding advantage around. As noted above, the Nuggets were out-rebounded by 10 boards in Game 1. By taking out Lee and adding in Faried, the Nuggets should get the lion's share of caroms in Game 2.

2) Less reliance on Andre Miller. Game 1 was one of those "thank god for Andre Miller" games, but you can't expect the 37 year old backup point guard to deliver a 28-point performance in 27 minutes again. The Nuggets will need more from Lawson and Evan Fournier in Game 2 so that anything Miller provides is gravy, and not depended upon.

3) Keep Stephen Curry in check ... again. If the Nuggets did one thing well in Game 1, it was keeping the Warriors' point guard Stephen Curry reasonably in check. Nuggets head coach George Karl recently told me that Curry is "the best shooter" he has ever seen, and if that's the case then Karl and the Nuggets should be commended to holding Curry to a 7-20 shooting night. But with Lee out, Curry will be looking to put on a hero game. Hopefully this leads Curry to an assortment of forced shots.

Final Thought

With the Warriors expectations of winning one game in this series now down to zero thanks to Lee's injury, they could potentially be more dangerous as they have absolutely nothing to lose. And while the pressure of expectations is on Denver, I'm not too worried. Unless Curry goes for 50 (not impossible, by the way), an amp'd up Pepsi Center crowd should help the Nuggets drive the short-handed Warriors back to Oakland down 0-2.

Go Nuggets!!

2012/2013 NBA Playoffs First Round: Game 2
	vs
0-1 (0-1 on road)	1-0 DEN	1-0 (1-0 at home)
April 23rd, 2013 - 8:30 PM (MT)
Pepsi Center - Denver, CO
Altitude / TNT / 950 AM / 104.3 FM The Fan
Probable Starters
Stephen Curry	PG	Ty Lawson
Klay Thompson	SG	Evan Fournier
Harrison Barnes	SF	Andre Iguodala
Carl Landry	PF	Wilson Chandler
Andrew Bogut	C	Kosta Koufos
Notes
Golden State of Mind	Blogs	Denver Stiffs
David Lee (hip) and Brandon Rush are out	Injuries	Kenneth Faried (ankle) is probable, Danilo Gallinari (ACL) is out
On two days rest during the regular season, the Warriors were just 4-4.	Stat	There is a HUGE statistical historical advantage when winning Game 1 at home ... but let's not jinx anything.

Game 2 shouldn't be nearly as difficult.

Three things to look for in this game ...

1) Flip the rebounding advantage around. As noted above, the Nuggets were out-rebounded by 10 boards in Game 1. By taking out Lee and adding in Faried, the Nuggets should get the lion's share of caroms in Game 2.

2) Less reliance on Andre Miller. Game 1 was one of those "thank god for Andre Miller" games, but you can't expect the 37 year old backup point guard to deliver a 28-point performance in 27 minutes again. The Nuggets will need more from Lawson and Evan Fournier in Game 2 so that anything Miller provides is gravy, and not depended upon.

3) Keep Stephen Curry in check ... again. If the Nuggets did one thing well in Game 1, it was keeping the Warriors' point guard Stephen Curry reasonably in check. Nuggets head coach George Karl recently told me that Curry is "the best shooter" he has ever seen, and if that's the case then Karl and the Nuggets should be commended to holding Curry to a 7-20 shooting night. But with Lee out, Curry will be looking to put on a hero game. Hopefully this leads Curry to an assortment of forced shots.

Final Thought

Go Nuggets!!