Golden State Warriors vs. the Northwestern Division: Predictions
By Andy Serbe
Apr 20, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Corey Brewer (13) during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Nuggets
2012-13 Record: 57-25 (made playoffs, eliminated in the first round 2-4 by Golden State)
Bet reading that parenthesis section was sweet to a lot of you. That being said, we have to remember that that series was an upset. This is still an extremely good and extremely deep team, with a great starting five and possibly the deepest bench in the league. They took a bit of a hit by dropping their head coach George Karl (Coach of the Year) and their Executive of the Year. Yeah, you read that right. Despite all that, they’re extremely dangerous, especially at home where they lost three games all season last year.
Prediction: 2-1
The Nuggets are essentially the same team (without a certain wing defensive stopper, where did he go again…?) that the Warriors manhandled in the playoffs last year, sans two non-player team leaders. Fortunately for Golden State though, two out of the three games are at Oracle this year. Out of the six games they played, Denver only took one in Oracle. This year, if they win the one game in the Pepsi Center, I don’t see them taking two in Oakland. They’re a good defensive team, above average at least. Well, what about the return of Danilo Gallinari, you say? I think that the addition of Andre Iguodala will do a good job of nullifying his offensive skill set. Oh, and they lost Iggy. That too.