Yeah Carmelo, thats right, we haven't forgot about what you did to us...TWICE this season with your little last second, ridiculous, game-winning, buzzer beater shots. It might be a nice time for the Thunder to head up to Denver and get some revenge as well, as the Nuggets have lost 4 of 5, and 8 of thier last 11. Meanwhile, the Thunder are having their best stretch ever, winning 5 of their last 6. Also, the Nuggets will likley be without K-Mart, and Anthony Carter. Of course we'll still be without Durant, but perhaps can get the win with this new defensive style of basketball the Thunder have been winning with lately, despite his absense against a 15 over .500 team.
Again, I wish I could give you a more detailed preview, but in an effort to not write the preview until after last nights game, I'm running out of time. This 5am garbage, I'm sure you can agree, is for the dogs. But enough complaining, on to the rest of the modest preview.
The Nuggets have averaged a rather low 97 points per game during their 1-5 record in March. So there is no better time than now for this Thunder team, who's defense has been really good during its current 5-1 streak, to go into to Denver and get some revenge for those two heartbreaking losses they handed us in the Ford Center. That streak for the Nuggets also included a 114-106 loss on Sunday in Sacramento to those very same Kings we beat last night. Although you can never compare games like that to determine who will win this game, maybe thats a hint at what is to come.
As always when facing the Nuggets, stopping Melo is priority number 1 for this defense, while at the same time not forgetting about Chauncy Billups. Those two are combining for 40 points per game this season. If you stop these two cats, you get the win, plain and simple. If you can only slow them down, well, you'll give yourself a shot to win. If you let them run wild, well sir, it'll be goodnight for the Thunder and the Nuggets will wipe the floor with us. I definitely don't expect that to happen.
Look for Thabo to come up HUGE again for us tonight, as he likely spend the night glued to Carmelo's hip pocket. If he can stay in his face all night, and rattle his cage a bit, I think the Thunder have as good a chance as ever to knock off a solidly in the playoffs team. It'll be a slightly earlier than last night tip tonight, at 8pm local time.
Looking forward to seeing if the Thunder can keep it up. I apologize again for the "quick" posts of the game recap last night, and this preview here. Hey, not much I can do about those west coast games, I mean serioulsy, I can't quit my dayjob, so we'll just have to trudge through the mud a bit until we get back to respectable starting times.