Analysis:1* Take Denver (#523)
LA is fighting for the #2 spot in the West and a first round
playoff matchup against the Mavs (the team everybody wants to face), a
legitimate motivator with only two games remaining in the regular season. That means the Clippers have a vested
interest in winning tonight’s game – hence the 16 point spread. But the Clippers have another game tomorrow
in Phoenix that is every bit as important as tonight’s game – they need to win
out. Doc Rivers isn’t going to rest his
starters here, but I’m not expecting him to extend them either. Expect the Clips to utilize their bench
liberally tonight, especially if they build a lead – the backdoor here should
be wide open.
The front door is open too.
Two of the three meetings between these two teams this year have been
highly competitive, a four point Clippers win (on this floor) and a three point
Nuggets win. The third meeting was a
Clippers blowout in Denver last week.
They won by 15, not enough to cover this spread.
Denver won’t make the playoffs, but they certainly haven’t
quit. They’ve won by double digits twice
in their last three ballgames and in the third, they rallied back from 21 down
at halftime before losing by a point in double overtime to the Mavs. Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried talking about
how hard the team is playing for interim head coach Melvin Hunt: “I feel like we're back to the old Nuggets and it's
exciting. I hope they hire him and I hope he's our head coach next year." Hunt kept his starters minutes down in
yesterday’s win over the Kings, leaving them relatively fresh for the second
night of back-2-backs here. Take the Nuggets
Pick Made: Apr 13 2015 8:29AM PST