Denver Nuggets v Detroit Pistons
March 27th 2019; Pepsi Center, Denver
Denver Nuggets has an excellent opportunity to pass Golden State Warriors and climb to the top of the Western Conference, however, Indiana Pacers had other plans. Tonight they will get a chance to catch up to Golden State once again, only if they manage to defeat Detroit Pistons who travel to Pepsi Center.
Denver Nuggets are currently sitting at the 2nd spot in the Western Conference with a 49-23 record. As it stands now they are just 0.5 game out of reaching Golden State Warriors and ultimately the no.1 seed in the West.
Looking at Denver Nuggets performances in recent weeks, they were on an exceptional 6 games winning streak, which ended on March 24th when they lost to Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. With that, Nuggets are 6-1 in the last 7 matches. Looking at their last 4 matches, they managed to defeat Boston Celtics (105:114), Washington Wizards (108:113) and New York Knicks (93:111) all on the road, until they met their match, the previously mentioned Indiana Pacers (124:88). The match against Indiana Pacers was disappointing, to say the least. Not only have Nuggets lost the chance to catch up to GSW with that defeat, but Denver were also defeated by an embarrassing 36 point margin. While I cannot say Denver played badly per se, it was most likely the fatigue of tough schedule which hindered their chances of making it 7 in a row.
Tonight's visitors, Detroit Pistons are playing extremely well since the All-Star Break. This might not seem to be the case if we look at their last 5 fixtures when Pistons won only 2. While they were able to defeat Toronto Raptors (110:107) and Phoenix Suns (98:118), Denver failed to do the same against Cleveland Cavaliers (126:119), Portland Trail Blazers (117:112) and most recently Golden State Warriors (121:114). Their run of 2-3 in the last 5 is far from impressive, but we must give them some slack as it is a tough schedule, which not only resulted in 4 consecutive road matches but also means they will play their 4th game in 6 nights tonight.
There are no new injuries for neither of the teams, however, with a tough schedule on both sides, I would not be surprised if we see some players play fewer minutes or even remain sidelined to rest. The home side is a clear favourite to win this one, which is not surprising, they play at home and are arguably the better side, additionally, we could argue the Pistons schedule in recent fixtures was harder. If we add the fact they will need to play at a high altitude tonight, there is no denying they are in a disadvantage. On the other side, Denver Nuggets while being favourites tend to struggle against Pistons, who never fail to put up a good show against Nuggets. We can see fatigue taking its toll on players from both teams, which is to be expected after brutal schedules they have endured and will continue to have to push through. Taking all into consideration I cannot see this one finishing in high numbers. Teams are running out of steam and will struggle to put up a lot of points. Expect this one to end under 210s.
Prediction: Under 211.00 points