Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
Friday, April 8, 2011, 8:05 pm Eastern, TV: Altitude2, FSN-Oklahoma, NBA League Pass
Opening Line: Thunder -3 1/2
Current Line: Thunder -4
Opening Total: 203 1/2
Current Total: 202 1/2
Money Line: OKC -180 / DEN +160
Based on the current NBA standings these two Northwest division rivals would play in the first round of the playoffs. However, Oklahoma City is only a game behind Dallas for the third seed in the West with a 52-26 record. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games including a 112-108 home victory over the Clippers Wednesday night. The Thunder have clinched their first division title since moving from Seattle several years ago. Denver is 48-30 this season and are currently seeded 5th in the west, 2 1/2 games ahead of Portland with 4 games to play. They can’t move up so they are pretty much locked into the fifth seed unless something drastic happens. Denver is also 7-3 in their last 10 games, including a 104-96 win over the slumping Mavericks in Dallas Wednesday night. In fact Nuggets’ coach George Karl has said he would rather play the Mavs in the first round rather than the Thunder.
The Thunder lead the series 2-1 this year against Denver. Oklahoma City won at home Christmas day 114-106. The Nuggets won at home January 19 112-107. The Thunder won in Denver Tuesday night 101-94 to clinch the division title. Denver is 8-3 straight up versus Oklahoma City in the last 3 seasons but the Thunder are 7-4 ATS in those games. Six of those games have gone over the total. Denver is 32-48 ATS versus teams allowing 99 points a game or more the last 2 seasons. Denver is 42-34 ATS in all games this season, including 13-5 versus teams with winning records over the last half the season. The Thunder are 91-73 ATS in all games the last 2 seasons, including 50-37 versus teams with winning records in the same span.
Nuggets shooting guard Aaron Afflalo is expected to miss this game with a hamstring injury. Forward Chris Anderson is questionable tonight with an ankle injury. Center Timothy Mozqov is out for 2 weeks with an ankle injury. The Nuggets are 16-5 since trading Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the Knicks. Danilo Gallinari leads the team in scoring with 15.5 points a game. Center Nene Hilario averages 14.6 points and leads the team in rebounds with 7.7 a game. Afflalo averages 12.6 points a game. Wilson Chandler averages 12.3 points a game. J.R. Smith averages 12.1 points a game. Ty Lawson averages 11.5 points a game. Raymond Felton averages 11 points a game, and leads the team in assists with 6.2 a game and steals with 1.4 a game. Al Harrington averages 10.4 points a game. Denver is outscoring opponents 107-103. The Nuggets are shooting 47.5% from the field and 38.8% from 3-point range. Nugget opponents are shooting 45.8% from the field. Denver makes 76.9% of their free throws. The Nuggets average 41.9 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.5. They average 22 assists and 14.1 turnovers a game. The Nuggets force 13.7 turnovers a game on defense. Denver averages 7.4 steals and 4.3 blocks a game.
The Thunder are pretty healthy right now as they tune-up for the playoffs. Though he is unquestionably one of the elite players in the league, forward Kevin Durant is not really mentioned in the MVP conversation with LeBron James and Derrick Rose for some reason. Durant is the leading scorer for the Thunder with 27.8 points and also averages 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game. Point Guard Russell Westbrook averages 21.8 points a game. He leads the team in assists with 8.2 and steals with 1.8 a game. James Harden averages 12.1 points a game. Forward Serge Ibaka leads the team in blocks with 2.4 a game. Kendrick Perkins leads the team in rebounds with 8.8 a game. The Thunder are outscoring opponents 104-101 on the season. Oklahoma City is shooting 46.1% from the field and 34.6% from 3-point range. Thunder opponents are shooting 45.9% from the field. The Thunder make 82.3% of their free throws. OKC averages 42.7 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +1.9. The Thunder average 20.3 assists and 13.9 turnovers a game. They force 14.1 turnovers a game on defense. The Thunder average 7.9 steals and 5.9 blocks a game.
Whether Denver faces Oklahoma City or Dallas in the first round, they will certainly provide a challenge for either team. With their depth, the Nuggets could be a sleeper team in the West. This game tonight should be close as the three previous meetings have all been decided by 7 points or less. Denver has enough depth to overcome the loss of Afflalo, Anderson, and Mozqov.
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