Two of the top teams in the West will face off against each other on March 9th at Oracle Arena, where Golden State Warriors await Denver Nuggets for their 3rd H2H fixture of the season.
Golden State Warriors come into this match as the Western Conference leaders with a 44-20 record and a poor 2-3 record in their last 5 matches. Looking at how Warriors performed in the last 5, they won against Charlotte Hornets (110:121) and Philadelphia 76ers (117:120), while they failed to perform up to par against Miami heat (126:125), Orlando Magic (103:96) and Boston Celtics (95:128) on Wednesday. It would be fair to say, that the Warriors are struggling with only 3 wins in the last 8 matches played. Nonetheless, this match will be highly important for Warriors to win, with the no.1 seed in question. This won’t be easy after a disappointing defeat against Celtics, who humiliated them with 128 points scored, so focus on the defence is expected from Steve Kerr and his men.
Denver Nuggets are currently 2nd in the West with 43-21 record and a 2-3 record in the last 5. Much like the Golden State Warriors, Nuggets are also struggling to perform. In their recent matches, Nuggets were defeated by Utah Jazz (104:111), New Orleans Pelicans (112:120) and San Antonio Spurs (104:103), while they managed to grab a win from Oklahoma City Thunder (121:112) and Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. As they face off against Golden State Warriors, Nuggets will need to slow down the pace if they wish to have a good chance to win and get themselves into an excellent position to finish the season as the Western Conference leaders. While this will be a hard task for Denver, he have seen them do it before and I believe they can do it again.
Golden State Warriors have Thompson, Livingston and Looney listed as questionable to appear, while Bogut is expected to play. As for the visitors, only Lyles and Porter remain sidelined.
This one should prove to be an exciting match, being that we will watch two of the best teams in the West playing against each other. Despite the fact they both suffer from terrible form, winning only 2 out of their last 5 fixtures, the upcoming match will be the one that they will need to perform up to par if they are serious about finishing as the 1st seed in the West. As mentioned, Denver Nuggets main focus will be stopping Golden State Warriors, who are playing with the fastest pace in the league, while Nuggets play with the 8th slowest. If Denver manages to bring Warriors down to their pace, they will get a good shot of winning and ending their terrible run. On the other side, Warriors will try to avoid yet another disappointing performance like the one we saw against Boston Celtics who scored 128 points, which is why I expect them to approach this match more defensively-minded. Taking all into consideration, this match should end up at a slower pace than expected, which will result in fewer points being scored on both sides.
Prediction: Under 234.50 points
Odds: 2.02 SBOBET
