The Denver Nuggets are coming off a 5-game road trip when they host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at the Pepsi Center.
On the outside, the Nuggets roady looked successful. For a team that was just 5-13 away from home, a three and two road swing seems like a good showing. And it would have been, had the Nuggets not faced five of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference; teams with a combined record of 74-166.
For Denver to have firmly secured their spot in a tight playoff race, they needed to sweepm or at the very least drop only one of the road games.
So now Denver returns home to face a good an long Portland team. If anything is in Denver's favor it is that Portland held off the NBA's best team last night at home, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 99-86, before hopping a flight in the frigid air, to land in denver early this morning for a back-to-back.
If anything sides towards Portland it is that Blazer big man LaMarcus Aldridge is on a tear of late, scoring 40 last night and pulling down 11 rebounds.
For Denver to win they need to contain Aldridge and get hot shooting nights out of their stars Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.
The game tips tonight at 7:00 p.m. MT and can be seen on Altitude.