Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. Welcome to the game thread. The Spurs face the second place Denver Nuggets tonight, and they’re trying to go 3-0 on their home stand after the worst Rodeo Road Trip in history. Nikola Jokic may not be the most athletic center in the league, but he might just be the best, and it’s going to be an interesting matchup between him and LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl in the paint tonight. The Spurs are in a race to get one of the last two playoff spots in the west, and they need to get as many wins as they can to secure a spot. Watch tonight and let’s see how it goes. Go Spurs GO! Viewing info: TV: FSSW Radio: WOAI Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments, but it is not against site policy to exchange email addresses for instance.<doc-sep>Who, pray tell, expected the Denver Nuggets to play as well as they have this year at the start of the season? Sitting in 2nd place in the bloodbath that is known as the Western Conference with a real shot of getting the #1 seed (as of today, they sit just a half-game out on Golden State), Denver has remained incredibly consistent throughout the long grind of an 82-game NBA season. Using All Star and legit-MVP candidate Nikola Jokic as their hub on offense, Coach of the Year candidate Mike Malone has his team playing at a methodical pace (98 possessions per 48 minutes, the 27th ranked pace in the league) that nevertheless is ruthlessly efficient (3rd in Offensive Rating at 114.2), gets everyone involved (2nd in the league in assists per game), and benefits from extra possessions with their league-leading offensive rebound percentage. They’ve surrounded Jokic with a bevy of wing players that can get their own shot, the lead man being 3rd year guard Jamal Murray, who lacks consistency and is just as likely to score below 10 points (he scored just 9 in their first match-up with the Spurs this season) as he is to light it up (31 in their following match-up just two days later). For San Antonio to win their 3rd straight game, they’ll have to limit the impact Jokic and their guards make. Denver Nuggets (42-20) vs. San Antonio Spurs (35-29) March 4, 2019 | 7:30 PM CT Watch: FSSW | Listen: WOAI Spurs injuries: Dejounte Murray (knee — out) Nuggets injuries: Trey Lyles (hamstring, was OUT Saturday) Point Jokic It’s not often that a 7-footer is your leading assist-man, but that’s exactly what Nikola Jokic has done this season for Denver, and it’s been extremely successful: When Jokic registers at least 7 assists, the Nuggets are 16-4. While the Spurs were able to limit the Joker’s scoring in the first match-up (he made just 1 of only 5 shots the entire game), he was still able to register 10 assists. In the second game a few nights later, he was more aggressive on offense and it helped set-up his teammates even more. Early in the first of that game he made an aggressive move in the post on Aldridge that drew Derrick White away from Jamal Murray, who Jokic ended up finding for a wide-open 3: Jokic and Murray once again ran the basics on this give-and-go in transition, which has been an area where the Spurs have defended poorly this year: Patty Mills got caught ball-watching and Jokic saw it, making him pay for it immediately with a pin point pass. Later in the first, they went to the give-and-go again in the half-court, except this time the cutter (Trey Lyles) didn’t get as open, so Jokic took it himself: At this point, Jokic already had 4 more points (9) and almost as many shot attempts (4) as he had for the entirety of the previous game. While Will Barton, Jamal Murray, a returning Isaiah Thomas, and rookie Monte Morris are all capable of creating their own shots, Jokic is still responsible for assisting on 38% of all field goals made when he is in the game (Fun Fact: No Nugget player who has played more than 10 games is creating more than 29% of their own 3-point field goal MAKES). It’ll be up to LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl to do the best they can to not only limit Jokic’s scoring, but his ability to get his teammates involved as well. Dual bigs going forward? The recent buy-out of Pau Gasol has left the Spurs very thin at the 5-spot. This made it all the more surprising that Gregg Popovich decided to give Jakob Poeltl the nod in the starting line-up over Rudy Gay during Saturday’s win over the Thunder, with the only legit back-up big, Chimezie Metu, being inactive. Poeltl came up big with 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in his 26 minutes of time, while Rudy was able to give the bench 22 points and a legit-wing who can get his own shot, attack mismatches, and play within the flow of the offense, something that they’ve lacked. On his flush to end the first quarter, the only other wing-starter out there for the Spurs was Bryn Forbes: Spurs broadcast loses it over this Rudy Gay dunk pic.twitter.com/FHsWZ5neKO — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 3, 2019 PtR’s Bruno Passos noted how Gay was feasting on mismatches almost the entire night. Here he takes big man Nerlens Noel out on the perimeter and dances with him, giving him a few head fakes before shaking him for the mid-range jumper: Pop has traditionally preferred to start two bigs, another example of zigging while the entire league zags and goes smaller and smaller. He’s had success with it as recently as the 16-17 season, when the Spurs won 61 games starting LaMarcus Aldridge and either Pau Gasol or Dewayne Dedmon for the majority of them. With only one back-up big, though, I’m not sure if this will be a viable strategy going forward. If they roll with the dual-big look tonight, I would expect Aldridge to get the initial match-up with Paul Millsap, who is more mobile than Jokic. Make your freebies The Spurs lost their second match-up to Denver 102-99 in uncharacteristic fashion: At the free throw line. While the Spurs don’t take the most free throws in the Association, they knock them in at a league-leading 82%. Back on December 28th, though, they shot just 55% (11/20), with very good free throw shooters like Marco Belinelli (the closest thing to automatic on the Spurs at 90%, 2/3), DeMar DeRozan (82% on the year, went 3/6), Derrick White (77%, 1/2), and LaMarcus Aldridge (85%, 2/3) combined to miss 7 free throws, essentially the difference between them at least forcing OT. Over the last 2 minutes, DeRozan, White, and Poeltl combined to go 4/8 from the stripe, with DeRozan missing 2 out of 4 and White and Poeltl splitting a pair each. The misses may have shown some signs of fatigue, as they went short (DeRozan) and long (White), but they were crucial misses nonetheless. In a 3-point game that comes down to free throws, you would be happy to be in that situation when you’re the best FT shooting team in the league. Let’s hope that they shoot like it tonight. Vegas line: Nuggets by 2 Prediction: Spurs by 2 For the visitor’s perspective, please visit Denver Stiffs. PtR’s Gamethread will be up this afternoon for those who want to chat through the game. You can also follow along with the action through PtR’s Twitter feed.<doc-sep>Nuggets vs. Spurs Prediction Can the Denver Nuggets shake their road woes when they take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 8:30PM ET? Game Snapshot & Odds 505 Denver Nuggets vs. 506 San Antonio Spurs Monday, March 4, 2019 8:30PM ET – AT&T Center Compare odds and from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our new NBA Odds & Betting Page. Public Betting Trends According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Spurs are the slight favorite at home, as they are getting odds of -1 point against the Nuggets. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 230.5 points. The public betting for this game currently has 55 percent going on the Spurs at home. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our NBA Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game. Nuggets drop two straight Denver is coming off a 120-112 loss at home to New Orleans. The Nuggets have lost and failed to cover in their last two games. Denver is 42-20 overall, 15-14 on the road and 33-29 against the spread and 33-28-1 with the under. The Nuggets are giving up 107.2 points per game on defense this season while allowing opponents to shoot 45.8 percent as a team. Offensively, Denver is putting up 112.2 points per game while shooting 46.9 percent as a team. Nikola Jokic is averaging 20.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game to lead the Nuggets while Jamal Murray is averaging 18.2 points and 4.9 assists per contest. Spurs snap skid San Antonio is coming off a 116-102 win over Oklahoma City on Saturday for its second straight win. The Spurs covered the spread in both victories. San Antonio is now 35-29 on the season, 24-7 at home, 34-29-1 against the spread and 38-25-1 with the over. The Spurs are putting up 112 points per game on offense this season while shooting 47.7 percent as a team from the field and 40.2 percent from the arc. Defensively, the Spurs are giving up 111.2 points per game while allowing opponents to shoot 46.8 percent. DeMar DeRozan is leading the team with 21.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per contest while LaMarcus Aldridge is adding 20.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. NBA Betting Trends Denver The Nuggets are 2-7 against the spread in their last nine road games and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games playing on 1 day of rest. San Antonio The Spurs are 15-6 against the spread in their last 21 home games, but 1-7 ATS in their last eight conference games. Prediction: San Antonio is coming off a pair of wins which snapped a really poor stretch for them. They seemed to have gotten themselves back on track. That should help tonight against a Denver team that has struggled on the road. The Nuggets are a juggernaut at home, but can’t seem to bring it with them on the road. I will take the Spurs to pick up the slack at home and pick up another win. NBA Prediction: San Antonio Spurs -1<doc-sep>
San Antonio, TX – The Denver Nuggets will begin a three-game road trip tonight in San Antonio as they take on the Spurs. The Nuggets are looking to bounce back from two consecutive losses to close out their most recent home stand. The Nuggets sit after 42-20 and are still in second place in the Western Conference standings. Denver holds a 3.5 game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second seed. The Nuggets are 1.5 games back of Golden State for first place. The Nuggets are just 5-5 over their last 10 games. The Spurs are 35-29 and holding on to the eight seed in the Western Conference playoff race. San Antonio is just 3-7 in their last 10 games but have won their last two contests against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons. This will be the third game between the Nuggets and Spurs this season. The teams have split the first two games with each team winning a game at home. In the most recent matchup, the Nuggets came away with a 102-99 win at Pepsi Center behind a 31-point outing from Jamal Murray. Here is what to watch for tonight: Getting back in a rhythm: After winning their first four games following the All-Star break, the Nuggets have found themselves in a bit of a funk in the last two games. The offense hasn’t been flowing and the defense has given up open looks from opponents. Denver used the starting lineup of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokić for the first time since October on Saturday, giving the opening night starters a chance to run with each other as the team heads towards the final stretch of the season. Paul Millsap staying hot: Millsap has played as well as any Nugget on both ends of the floor since the All-Star break. Millsap is averaging 16.2 points since the break on 52 percent shooting from the floor and 41 percent from three. The veteran power forward has been a strong presence on the glass as well, hauling in 10.2 rebounds a game since the break, well above his season average of seven a game. Millsap has averaged 2.8 steals a game to go along with 1.4 blocks a night in the last six games. Finding a way to win on the road: With tonight being the start of a three-game road trip, the Nuggets have a tall task ahead of them to stay ahead division rivals Oklahoma City and Portland in the Western Conference standings. The Nuggets have lost their last 12 games in San Antonio. Denver heads to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Wednesday, a place where they have lost their last four games. Tonight’s game will tip at 6:30 MT and will air on Altitude TV and the AltitudeNOW app. Fans can listen on Altitude Radio, 92.5 FM.