Nuggets vs Spurs NBA Handicapping
The New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans? Giants-killers? New Orleans destroyed the Nuggets off the boards Sunday night and put an end to Denver’s winning streak which had hit 15 games, the younger brother to Miami’s 27-game run.
Denver Nuggets (49-23) at San Antonio Spurs (53-17)
Wedensday, March 27
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
8:30 p.m. EST
Odds: Spurs -7 at Betonline
O/U: Opening 213 Now 208
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Tonight the Nuggets will be trying to get another plus streak going, but it won’t be easy as they face the Spurs in San Antonio. Only four visiting teams have won in SA this season, and 30 have bitten the dust in the shadow of the Alamo.
San Antonio has its All-Star PG, Tony Parker, back after missing 8 games with a sprained ankle, but a matchup with Denver standout Ty Lawson might not come about. Lawson is dealing with a strained right heel and has missed three games.
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(In those three, Denver was life and death to beat bottom-feeders Philadelphia and Sacramento before being crushed by 24 in the Big Easy, which gives us an idea of what Lawson means to the Nuggets at both end of the floor.)
It’s difficult if not impossible to underestimate how hard it is to beat the Spurs on their home floor (they’re 30-4), where San Antonio goes down on average about once a month. [ad-6571516]
Seems like the Spurs lose at home only when they don’t pay much attention. Portland and Phoenix are the only teams to do it in 2013; the Clippers and Knicks were winners in SA early in the season, before anyone knew those teams would be decent.
Late-season games are often about motivation, and the Spurs would dearly love to finish with the best record (and top seeding) in the Western Conference. To do that, they need to take care of business over the final dozen games and hold off Oklahoma City.
No one has to tell the rest of the WC playoff field how difficult it would be to defeat the Spurs in any Game 7 in San Antonio.
Denver, meanwhile, has its own ongoing playoff fight going with the Los Angeles Clippers. Each has its sights set on the No. 3 playoff seed, which brings home-court edge in at least the first round and avoids the Spurs until the conference finals.
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It’s difficult to figure the Nuggets winning this game without Lawson at full speed. The Spurs lost to Houston on Sunday, ending a four-game winning streak, but they absolutely dig in their heels at home and refuse to budge. They have won 27 games in a row at home when they shoot for a higher percentage than their opponent. Maybe the Nuggets get the job done at home, but not in Texas tonight.
SPURS 109, NUGGETS 95.
