| 2012/2013 NBA Preseason | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
vs |  |
| October 21st, 2012, 6:00 PM (MT) | ||
| Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | ||
| TV (None) / 950 AM/103.1 FM The Fan | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Russell Westbrook | PG | Ty Lawson |
| DeAndre Liggins | SG | Andre Iguodala |
| Kevin Durant | SF | Danilo Gallinari |
| Serge Ibaka | PF | Kenneth Faried |
| Hasheem Thabeet | C | JaVale McGee |
| Advanced Stats (2011/2012) | ||
| 93.0 (6th of 30) | Pace | 94.2 (2nd of 30) |
| 109.8 (2nd of 30) | ORtg | 109.2 (3rd of 30) |
| 103.2 (11th of 30) | DRtg | 106.2 (20th of 30) |
At practice on Friday, George Karl said that he was going to treat the next two preseason games like regular season games. Tighten up his rotation and extend some minutes.
Kendrick Perkins won’t play tonight and it should be fun to see how Hasheem Thabeet plays against the Nuggets big men. The former No. 2 overall pick of the of the 2009 draft scored 5 points and put up 4 rebounds on Oct. 19th against the Phoenix Suns in 18 minutes of action (he also started that game).
Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden are both listed as day-to-day and may or may not play this evening, they both sat out against the Suns.
What to focus on tonight …
-How will Wilson Chandler look after making his return to the court against the Blazers? Chandler only took four shots in Portland and if he’s going to be part of Denver’s second scoring unit, he’ll need to incorporate himself into the offense more.
-The Nuggets big men … if Karl’s treating these next two games as regular season games, how will the rotation look at center? We shouldn’t take Karl’s comments to mean that this is how his rotation will be, but rather that he’s going to give guys more time to show what they can do. Hopefully JaVale McGee, Kosta Koufos, and Timofey Mozgov will step up.
-The offense … let's see how comfortable the Nuggets are getting on the court together and if they can start to shore up their turnover rates. Karl said an issue with turnovers was likely his player combinations in the first four games this preseason. We should see those numbers drop as guys get more comfortable with one another.
-Which wings will soar? Off the bench who gets a shot tonight? Corey Brewer? Jordan Hamilton? Wilson Chandler? All three? Evan Fournier? Will we see the two point guard lineup?
-Who covers Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant?
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