The Raps have their hands full tonight
Coming off a tight loss in Phoenix Sunday, the Raptors are in Denver tonight to face the Nuggets — never a fun task, but we might as well get this one over with. As always, a full preview over at Raptors Republic, featuring my NBA 2K10 game simulation.
Last year Toronto was pasted in Denver 132-93 in early December — Sam Mitchell’s last game as head coach. The Nuggets come into this one 7-3 and tied with Portland atop the Northwest Division, undefeated at home and coming off a 105-79 romp of the Lakers on Friday. They didn’t do much to upgrade in the summer, but last November’s addition of Chauncey Billups transformed them into a top-five team in the league, where I believe they still stand. A couple keys tonight will be to keep Billups in check and keep Carmelo Anthony completely going off — he’s currently tied for second in the league at 29.7 points per game. Denver also got a boost last week with the return of suspended guard J.R. Smith, who’s averaged 14.3 points in three games. Smith is talented but extremely shot-happy, and has proven capable of shooting the Nuggets out of games on off-nights. Let’s hope tonight is one of them.
Chris Bosh should be able to have his way in the paint with Kenyon Martin and Nene, though Birdman Andersen will bring some shot-blocking punch off the bench. I’m not sure what else Toronto can do to come out on top tonight other than to cross their fingers and hope for a miracle, though.
The Raptors and Nuggets get going at nine.
