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Denver Nuggets Host NBA Champion Warriors

By Jonathan Savitske

January 2, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots the basketball against Denver Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur (00) during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Nuggets 111-108 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 2, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots the basketball against Denver Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur (00) during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Nuggets 111-108 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Denver Nuggets welcome the Golden State Warriors to the Pepsi Center for a Wednesday night tilt against the reigning NBA Champions.

The Denver Nuggets won their last game on Sunday at home against the Charlotte Hornets by a score of 95-92 behind Danilo Gallinari‘s 27 points. Rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay also made a return to the Nuggets starting lineup, playing well and scoring 11 points in the contest. Jameer Nelson is currently listed as probably for Wednesday’s game after missing Sunday’s contest against Charlotte.

The Golden State Warriors are historically good this season, and are chasing the the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls for the best regular season record in NBA history. At 36-2, the Warriors are by far the best team in the league so far this season, and have won seven consecutive games entering Wednesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Golden State won their last game on Monday, defeating the Miami Heat by a 111-103 final score.

When the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors last faced one another on January 4th, the Denver Nuggets put together a valiant rally to overcome what was at one point almost a 25 point lead to take the Warriors to overtime, losing 111-108. Kenneth Faried suffered what appeared as a very serious neck injury and was carted off the court in overtime. Faried surprisingly returned to the starting lineup the next day for the Denver Nuggets. 

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Now that the Denver Nuggets are almost at full strength with the return of Mudiay, Danilo Gallinari’s effective scoring, and Jusuf Nurkic‘s contributions off of the bench, the team must contend with the Warriors who perhaps will not have Draymond Green available on Wednesday. Green is listed as questionable, with a report coming out today that interim Head Coach for the Warriors, Luke Walton, has encouraged Green to rest over the next couple of days.

Without Draymond Green, the challenge of tackling the Goliath that is Golden State becomes slightly easier for the Denver Nuggets, who will gain an excellent rebounding advantage inside. The Warriors will also not possess the same ability to stretch the floor without Green, who is averaging 15.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Green is also shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.

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In his place, Luke Walton may decide to start Marreese Speights, who is a valuable contributor off the bench for Golden State. The lack of size and physicality on the Warriors may play into the hands off the Denver Nuggets, who possess a trio of tall and physical frontcourt players in Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic and Joffrey Lauvergne.

If the Denver Nuggets can shoot efficiently throughout the game — which is no easy thing against the Golden State defense — they have a shot at exacting revenge on their home court on Wednesday. The Nuggets have shown they are able to come back from deficits, but have trouble holding on to leads. If Denver gets ahead on Wednesday, it’s imperative they buckle down on defense. They nearly lost after blowing a 10-point lead to Charlotte on Sunday.

A similar effort to last week’s game against Minnesota will not cut it for the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday against Golden State. The Nuggets will have to play almost a flawless 48 minutes in order to get a win over the best team in the league. If they are able to do so, the Denver Nuggets could finish Wednesday with their signature victory of this season.

Next: Denver Nuggets Oust Hornets, 95-92

It is a difficult task, but if the Denver Nuggets show the heart and the drive as they did a couple of weeks ago in Oakland against the Warriors, then perhaps they can come out with a victory on Wednesday against Golden State.

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