The Golden State Warriors (51-12) travel to Denver to play the Nuggets (24-41) in a game that will likely be up tempo. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 13 and will air on CSN-BA and Altitude.
The Nuggets beat the Hawks 115-102 on Wednesday. Danilo Gallinari led all scorers with 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Warriors, meanwhile, are coming off a 105-98 win over the Pistons on Wednesday. Klay Thompson shot 11-for-19 and led in scoring with 27 points.
Kenneth Faried has really been playing well as of late for the Nuggets, averaging 15.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.0 blocks over the last five games. On the other side, the Warriors have been led by Draymond Green. He has been on fire, averaging 17.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers in the same time frame.
There should be plenty of transition action in this game. The Nuggets rank fourth in the league in possessions per game (99.5), while the Warriors are first (101.5).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Warriors won the first game 122-79. Stephen Curry was a top performer in the victory with 20 points, one rebound, eight assists, one steal, two blocks, and two three-pointers.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Nuggets enter the game with records of 24-41 Straight Up (SU) and 26-36-3 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 14-24 SU and 14-22-2 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. Teams have a tough time keeping Denver off of the offensive glass. They rank fourth in the NBA in offensive rebounds.
Across the court, Golden State has a SU record of 51-12 and an ATS record of 36-26-1. Golden State has a record of 30-7 SU and 25-12 ATS against the West. They sport the top-ranked scoring offense in the league, averaging 109.6 points per game. Defenses have a tough time accounting for every player when up against the Warriors, who average a league-leading 27.0 assists per game. Golden State’s defense has set the standard for league, with opponents shooting a league-low .425 from the field. When it comes to defending the rim, the Warriors are the best in the league with an average of 6.1 blocks per game. A large part of Golden State’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 20.0 points per game off turnovers, which ranks second in the league. The Warriors are in for a physical game against Denver. The Nuggets are not afraid to send opponents to the free throw line, averaging a league-high 22.8 fouls per game.
Golden State won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 7-3. Additionally, with an 8-2 record, the Warriors have the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Denver and Golden State each held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last 10 meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – GS, ATS Winner – GS
Notes
Golden State ranks first in points allowed per road game (100.4 PPG), while Denver ranks 10th in points per home game with 102.6.
The Nuggets have a 15-7 record when they allow fewer than 100 points. The Warriors, however, have performed well when they don’t hit triple digits, with a record of 8-5 in such contests.
The Denver Nuggets have an underachieving 9-34 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Golden State Warriors are 43-7 when they hit triple digits.
The Warriors have the league’s top defense, with a defensive rating of 97.9. The Nuggets have an offensive rating of 100.5 (ranked 22nd).
Golden State beats Denver in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Warriors average 101.5 possessions and 1.079 points per possession, while the Nuggets average 99.5 possessions with 1.005 points per possession.
Ranked first in the NBA, Golden State has an average effective field goal percentage of 53.9%. Denver has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-17).
The Denver Nuggets rank 19th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.58. The Golden State Warriors have a higher A/TO (1.86), ranking third.
The Denver Nuggets rebound 44.7 times per game and are ranked seventh. Ranked sixth, the Golden State Warriors rebound 44.8 times per game.
The Golden State Warriors rank 22nd in offensive rebounding, while the Denver Nuggets rank 11th in defensive rebounding.
Golden State is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 15.7% (ranked sixth). Denver has a losing record of 6-11 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 15.7% or greater.
