Denver Nuggets at Boston Celtics
Wednesday, 12/8/10, 7:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Denver is hoping the second attempt to gain head coach George Karl’s 1000th career win will be more successful on its second try than the first, dropping a 100-98 contest in Charlotte last night. “It would have been something I’d have remembered if I won my 1000th here,” Karl commented. “But hopefully we’ll get it on this trip.” The Nuggets are 3-6 on the road this season, dropping five of their last six, while garnering a dominating 10-1 mark at the Pepsi Center. “We’ve to to play a little better basketball to win on the road,” Karl stated after the latest loss. “We’ve got to be a little smarter, a little tougher.” All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony will need to step up his performance in order for this club to start winning away from Denver, averaging 15.4 points over his last five games. Denver is 0-2 ATS versus Atlantic Division teams this year and make sure to check out the NBA lines page for movement on this game.
The Nuggets have lost 17 of the last 20 games against the Celtics in Boston, but two of those three wins have come in the last six seasons. The two teams have split the season series each of the last five seasons, while the overall series has been dead-even since 2002-03 (8-8). Denver’s loss in Charlotte snapped a season-best seven-game overall winning streak. Offensively, the team fell just short of the 100-point plateau, falling to 1-5 on the season when failing to reach that mark, including 0-5 on the road. The team is also accustomed to close games during the 2010-11 campaign, as 14 of its 20 games have been decided by single digits.
Boston enters with a 16-4 overall mark on the season and has tallied a 3-2 mark versus the Western Conference early on. The Celtics will be focused on the health of point guard Rajon Rondo tonight, as he was unable to play against the Nets last time out due to lingering foot and hamstring injuries. “It was literally about two seconds before the game was going to start,” coach Doc Rivers said about Rondo sitting on Sunday. “I usually don’t like that. It was really a last second cancellation.” Boston would obviously be best served to have him in the lineup, as he averaged nearly a triple-double last year against the Nuggets, scoring 13.0 points, grabbing 8.0 rebounds and dishing out 13.0 assists. The squad is 21-12 ATS when playing with two days rest.
The Celtics aren’t looking at the standings heading into a stretch of playing three games in four nights, but many front office folks have started to turn its focus to what’s ahead. “What’s important is playing well late,” said general manager Danny Ainge. “Now is important, too, but I don’t think anyone in their right mind has written off Miami or Los Angeles.” Boston’s last victory was impressive due to opening up a 20-point lead at the half, after ending the first quarter with just a two-point lead. “They jumped all over us in the second quarter and we never recovered,” said New Jersey coach Avery Johnson. “They looked like a championship team.”
Bettors will be interested in the Nuggets 5-13-2 ATS mark with zero days rest, while the Celtics are 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine home games.
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