 |
vs.
|
 |
San Antonio Spurs (57-13) vs Denver Nuggets (42-29)
Wednesday March 23 – 10:30 PM
Last meeting: San Antonio has won all three meeting this season (2-1 ATS)
The Spurs still have the best record in the league and visit Denver on a modest three game winning streak. The game marks the start of a 3 game road trip that Tim Duncan is expected to skip due to injury. In his absence against Golden State on Monday the Spurs got good production from young forward Tiago Splitter (10 pts and 14 rebounds). If he is able to keep up that level of production than San Antonio should see little drop off in their play and feel little need to rush Duncan back into the fold. San Antonio immediately becomes a quicker team with Duncan out of the lineup which definitely suits the style of play of their opponent tonight – Denver. Look for Manu Ginobili to be even more of the focus on this trip.
The Nuggets were red hot after trading Carmelo Anthony but recently lost back to back road games against Orlando and Miami (no shame there). They absolutely destroyed the Toronto Raptors on Monday night 123-90, with 7 players scoring in double figures. Even without Anthony this is still the highest scoring team in the league and the play of point guard Ty Lawson has been phenomenal of late. He is truly a one man fast break and he will put a lot of pressure on the Spurs to get back on defense. Since the trade he has become the Nuggets most important player. When he struggles (18 points combined against ORL/MIA) they struggle but when he performs well it makes you want to say Carmelo who. Can he lead a home victory over the Spurs and increase his stock, quite possibly.
The current line on this one is Denver -5. I thought the number would be a little smaller here but I guess Duncan being out is worth more than expected. There is some value with SA given they have the best record in the league and you get 5 points.
Prediction: Visiting Denver is always tough on the road team. Denver will be psyched to host the league’s best and show them they are a team to be reckoned with so late in the season. The game means more to Denver and I expect them to win outright.
Score: Denver 103 – San Antonio 100
