Tag: denver-nuggets

NBA Picks for this week

By: Andrew Brown

Wednesday 24, 2024

Heat vs Celtics 7:00pm

East 1st round – Game two, BOS lead series 1-0

Who’s going to win: Celtics. With the heat without Jimmy Butler and Rozier it’ll be hard for them to win against this Celtics team. For the Celtics they need to play like they’ve been playing this whole season. They cannot get into the one on one game they’ll need to pass the ball and create/look for mismatches. 

Pelicans vs Thunder 9:30pm

West 1st round – Game two, OKC leads series 1-0

Who’s going to win: Thunder. With Zion out players like Trey Murphy need to step up for  Zion’s absence. The Pelicans were also one of the best teams scoring in the paint but it’ll be hard doing that without Zion. For the Thunder they should easily win the series unless Shai gets injured. With them being the youngest team in the league they need to use their young energy to beat out their opponents. 

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Thursday 25, 2024

Cavs vs Magic 7:00pm

East 1st round – Game three, CLE lead series 2-0

Who’s going to win: Magic. In my opinion I think the Magic will come back and win the series. If they want any chance of doing that they have to believe they can. At the start of the season they were on fire. If they can play like that then they will easily make the conference finals and maybe the championship. The only 2 things that come down to them winning is hard defense and Jalen Suggs stepping up. Palo and Wanger can’t be the only two scoring. For the Cavs they can’t let them come back. If they end up losing this series they will have a lot of things they have to do in the summer. The key to winning is Darius Garland. Garland has been in a shooting slump and needs to get out of it before it’s too late. 

Nuggets vs Lakers 10:00pm

West 1st round – Game three, DEN lead series 2-0

Who’s going to win: Denver. Last game the Lakers had a 20 point lead and still lost. If they can’t win games when they’re up by 20 then they aren’t winning the series. Darvin Ham needs to make some serious adjustments to win. Lebron and AD also need to finish out games and hope they can come back. For the Nuggets they need to play like they have been every time they play this team. They have won 10 straight and will probably get 11. They have a good chance to sweep them too. 

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Friday 26, 2024

Bucks vs Pacers 7:30pm

East 1st round – Game three, series tied 1-1

Who’s going to win: Pacers. After the last game it looked bad for the Bucks. The pacers were just getting everything they wanted on offense. Sikam also looks like the best player in the NBA. For the Bucks Lilard has to carry the load now that Giannis is out. On defense They need to box out and stop them from getting offensive rebounds. Either the Bucks win the series or at least keep it close for Giannis to return. 

Clippers vs Mavs 10:00pm

West 1st round – Game three, series tied 1-1

Who’s going to win: Clippers. With all their talent how can they lose. Also with Kawaii coming back they should be better all around. They need to all use their experience to win the game and the series. For the Maverick it all starts with defense, especially Luka. If Luka plays hard defense and doesn’t let players blow by then it’ll make winning easier for them. With the Clippers having the big 4 you have to pick your poison because you can’t and won’t defend all of them. 

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Saturday 27, 2024

Thunder vs Pelicans 3:30pm

West 1st round – Game three, OKC lead series 1-0

Who’s going to win: Thunder. Without Zion they’ll probably get swept. Shai (who has a chance of getting the MVP) has to lead this team to the next round. He cannot slack off now, he has to finish the job and go to the next round. For the Pelicans at this point they have to hope they are shooting well and they aren’t. 

Nuggets vs Lakers 8:30pm

West 1st round – Game four, DEN lead series 2-0

Who’s going to win: Lakers. If they lost their last game then this is make it or break it time. If they get a 10 point lead it’ll probably only goi u p from there. With his career potential in the line Lebron will give it his all and will break the losing streak against Denver. For the Nuggets they have to expect that they won’t go down without a fight. They need to match their energy and go on to the next round. If the Laker wants to go on they need to pay like their life is in it because most of them are. For the Nuggets to win they have to play like they have been this whole season and not let them gain confidence. 

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Sunday 28, 2024

Knicks vs 76ers 1:00pm

East 1st round – Game four, NY lead series 2-0 

Who’s going to win: If the Knicks haven’t won. game 3 then this is the last chance for the 6ers. Just like the Lakers situation they have to win to keep their season alive. With Embiid going batter and better each game expect him to have a big game especially if the Knicks are up 3-0. The 76ers need to use their strength and size down low offensively and defensively. For the Knicks they look like they’ve already won the series the way they played. If they keep this defense up then they should and easily sweep them. They have held the 6ers to under 100 points each game. If the Knicks want to win and possibly sweep then they cannot lack on the defensive side where they’ve been good at. 

Timberwolves vs Suns 9:30pm

West 1st round – Game four, MIN lead series 2-0

Who’s going to win: Timberwolves. If the Timberwolves won the last game then they should easily sweep the Suns. The Timberwolves are a total mismatch against the Suns. The Timberwolves can get anything they want offensively and then destroy them defensively. It also helps to have the best defensive team in the NBA. If this is possible the last game for the Suns then KD and Booker need to not pass the ball and only shoot. This team in the previous games looked like it had no idea what they were doing on the court. KD and Booker were missing and complaining while The Wolves stormed down the court and scored. If they want to win they need to lock in because this team showed throughout the season that they can beat anyone. 

Top NBA games for March 11-17, 2024

By: Andrew Brown

Monday 11, 2024

Warriors vs Spurs 8:00pm
Who’s going to win: Spurs. This will be the third game of the series with the Warriors squeezing by the first game. Even though they’re not winning much, Wemby has been on fire and we are starting to see another reason why he was picked first overall in the draft. Not only for his height but what he can do with his height. There are plenty of players over 7 feet tall but not all of them can hit step back threes like Wemby. With the Warriors biggest player on the court being Draymond Green (who’s only 6’6) Wemby should feast all night and if he isn’t stopped they can win this game. For the Warriors they need to play like they were before they got destroyed by the Celtics. They will have to rely on their 3 point shooting (which they already do) because they’ll rarely score on Wemby down low. Stopping Wemby will be the biggest priority for this game if they want to win.
Hornets vs Pistons 7:00pm
Who’s going to win: Hornets. This will be the third and last game of the series with the Pistons winning the last two. A battle between the worst teams in the NBA. Like I said earlier the Pistons own this series. But this Hornets team has gotten much better. With acquiring Tre Mann and Grant Williams they’ve been better offensively. Once LaMelo is back and healthy They will be winning more than they are. For the Pistons they have to realize that this is a totally different
team from the last two times they’ve played. They have to work hard and win because now at this point every win counts.

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Tuesday 12, 2024

76ers vs Knicks 7:30pm
Who’s going to win: Knicks. With Embiid out it’ll be hard for them to win a game. They’ll have to rely on the rookies and bench players to make big plays. They also need Maxey to step into Embiid’s role which will be tough. For the Knicks they need to focus. This team is definitely better than the Hawks and Warriors but lost both of them by 10+ points. They cannot play like that against the 76ers.
Timberwolves vs Clippers 10:00pm
Who’s going to win: Timberwolves. This will be the fourth and last game of the series with the Timberwolves leading 2-1. The T-Wolves have the best defense in the league with Kat and Gobert. This team has been turned around in the last three years from being last in their conference to being top 3. A big reason for this turnaround is Ant. Carrying his team through it all. For the Clippers it’ll be tough losing Westbrook off the bench. He was the tone setter for the players on the bench. They have to lock in on offense and need every opportunity they can get. The Timberwolves defense’s relentless scoring will be tough for the Clips.
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Wednesday 13, 2024

Nuggets vs Heat 7:30pm
Who’s going to win: Nuggets. This will be the second and last games of the series with the Nuggets being up 1-0. Jokic has been a problem having 4 triple doubles out of the last 7 games since the all-star break. They also won 6 out the last 7 games. With anyone being able to score 30+ this is a problem for opponents who have to play this team. For the Heat Jimmy Butler can’t
be the only one scoring the majority of the points. They need Rozier to be the one scoring when Butler is having an off game. Bam also needs to do his best to contain Jokic if they want any chance of winning.
Lakers vs Kings 10:00pm
Who’s going to win: Kings. This will be the fourth and last game of the season series with the Kings taking a commanding 3-0 lead. As I said earlier the Kings carry this series and if they meet in the playoffs things will not be looking good for the Lakers. Fox has also carried them this series scoring 35+ in two of the last three games. Including having 44 in the last game. The Lakers need to keep them out of the paint. The Kings have outscored the Lakers in every single game against them. With Lebron possibly out for this game it’ll be hard for the Lakers to prevent the series sweep.
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Thursday 14, 2024

Celtics vs Suns 7:30pm
Who’s going to win: Celtics. This will be the first game of the season series. The Celtics have shown that they can beat any team by 30 if they want. But they cannot afford losing a game when they’re up by 22 with 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter. With Jaylen Brown winning eastern conference player of the week and Tatum winning the eastern conference player of the month, these all-stars look like they want a ring. For the Suns KD is averaging 28 points per game while basically making half the shots he takes. To win this game they’ll need Booker to come back from his injury ready to go against this aggressive Celtics team. If I’m the Suns coach I’ll play to win but to also not lose by 50. The Suns cannot take an embarrassing loss and want to keep this game to at least 10 points.
Mavs vs Thunder 10:00pm
Who’s going to win: Thunder. This will be the third game of the series with it being tied at one a piece. The Mavs have been awful since the all-star game winning only two out of seven games. They also have the worst defense in the NBA since the all-star break. Even when Luka gets a triple double they lose. Obviously if they want to get back on the winning side they have to start by getting their defense back on track. As for the Thunder, if the Mavs keep playing horrible on defense then the Thunder should have an easy night due to having one of the best offenses in the league. Shai, the MVP candidate, has been the leading scorer in most of the games he has played. Shai needs to keep leading this team to victory to keep a top 3 spot in the conference.
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Friday 15, 2024

Heat vs Pistons 7:00pm
Who’s going to win: Heat. This will be the third game of the series with the Heat up 2-0. At this point the Pistons have only one option. Tank and hope things go better next year. With this embarrassing season major changes need to be done to get them to at least win games. For the Heat they are 8-2 in the past ten games. If they lose this game there will be some serious problems they’ll have to solve. Even with Tyler Herro potentially missing this game they should easily win this.
Hawks vs Jazz 9:30pm
Who’s going to win: Hawks. This will be the second and last game of the series with the Hawks winning big the last game to be up 1-0. The Jazz haven’t been all that good since the break winning only one out of the last five. This is mainly because of the injuries. With Young out for a while they haven’t been doing that bad. winning three out of the last five. With Seddiq Bay stepping up this team is a team to watch especially when Young comes back. For them to win they have to come with the dominance they came with the first time.
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Saturday 16, 2024

Nets vs Pacers 7:00pm

Who’s going to win: Pacers. This will be the first game of the series. The Pacers are one of the highest scoring teams in the league. This team can put up 130 every game if they wanted to. Haliburton has come out of nowhere. Him and his team have improved significantly from last season. For the Nets injuries are their biggest problem right now. With Ben Simmons out for the year the Nets are running out of players to play. Harden, KD, and Kyrie messed this team up by leaving. Even though it might seem that there is only bad news, they have won three of the last five games with a lot of stars out. Dorian Finney-Smith and Mikai Bridges need to have big games for them to win.
Warriors vs Lakers 8:30pm
Who’s going to win: Warriors. This will be the third matchup of the series with it being tied at one a piece. Lebron looked like age is finally getting to him in his last game. With this the Lakers most likely will give Lebron rest for his upcoming games. This being said AD, Reaves, and Russel have to show his presence for this game. For the Warriors they did an exceptional job bouncing back from the 52 point Celtics loss to beating the Bucks by 38 points. With a loss like that, teams usually lose confidence and lose again the next game. After that performance this either means the Celtics are really good or the Bucks just are trash. Curry needs to keep being dominant and keep winning.
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Sunday 17, 2024

Bucks vs Suns 1:00pm
Who’s going to win: Bucks. This will be the second and last game of the series with the Suns up 1-0. Before the loss to Golden State they were on a 6 game winning streak due to their efforts on defense. Before the all-star break they lost a surprising game to the Grizzlies who only have half the team with a bunch of G-league players. If they want to win they need to continue playing good defense. They also can’t let Giannis, Dame, and Portis score 63 combined points out of 90. That means the rest of the team scored 27 points. All 10 players that played combined for 27 points. That can’t happen. They need other players like Crowder and Lopez to show up. For the Suns they need to stay consistent. They can’t lose to the Rockets and then beat the Nuggets. Consistency is key for them making the playoffs. To win the need to keep Giannis out of the paint and make him make tough shots. They also need to contain Lillard from deep. Last time Booker and KD combined for 60, they either need to do the same or play good defense.
Nuggets vs Mavs 3:30pm
Who’s going to win: Nuggets. This will be the third and last game of the series with the Nuggets looking for another series sweep. After the Nuggets swept the Celtics in the season series this team might be favorites to win it all now. With Jokic having a triple double against the best defense, it looks like he cannot be stopped. Even though they made only 4 threes they scored 115 while shooting exactly 50% from the field. For the Mavs, stopping Jokic is almost impossible. Jokic will probably have another 30 point triple double so they need to focus on
stopping everyone else and hope Jokic plays badly. They also have got to play good interior defense. They scored 103 points in the paint against a good Celtics defense. If Luka and Kyrie go to an offensive clinic they have a chance to barely outdo them.