The Denver Nuggets are jockeying for playoff position, while the Washington Wizards are stockpiling ping-pong balls for the NBA Draft lottery. Hopefully the Nuggets can put this one out of reach early and give the fans something to do at Pepsi Center … like get your picture taken striking the Captain Morgan’s pose for a good cause.
The particulars …
Game: 73
Records:
Denver: 43-29 (29-7 at home)
Streak: Won 2 and 7-3 in last 10 games.
Washington: 17-53 (1-33 on the road)
Streak: Lost 2 and 2-8 in last 10.
Injuries:
Denver: Raymond Felton (left ankle injury) is probable. Arron Afflalo (left hamstring) is out.
Washington: Andray Blatche (strained right shoulder), Josh Howard (left knee tendinitis) and Rashard Lewis (sore right knee) are all out. Nick Young (bruised left knee) is questionable.
Season Series: Denver leads 1-0. Won in Washington 120-108 on January 25th.
Opposition's Take: Bullets Forever
While you're at game tomorrow night you might notice Captain Morgan walking around the Pepsi Center posing for pictures with fans. The reason he's doing this is a great one … the "One Million Poses" challenge.
Captain Morgan and the Morganettes are on a quest to collect Poses for charity as part of Captain Morgan’s One Million Poses challenge, a yearlong, coast-to-coast pursuit to collect One Million Poses and raise $1,000,000 for charity.
They'll be at the Pepsi Center on Friday, March 25 as the Denver Nuggets battle the Washington Wizards, and will be asking fans to strike the iconic Captain’s Pose. For each Pose collected, Captain Morgan will donate $1 to the First Mate Fund, which supports responsible drinking initiatives and other programs that benefit the community.
The Captain has traveled to legendary parties and games across the country, including the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, collecting more than 100,000 Poses and donating more than $100,000 to charity so far this year. But he needs help from Nuggets fans to help him on his quest for one million!
Fans not in attendance at the game can still participate and have their Poses counted by visiting the Captain Morgan USA Facebook Page, where they can upload photos or videos of their Captain Morgan Pose, along with the legendary stories that helped inspire them.
I'll be in attendance tomorrow night at the Pepsi Center for the third time this week and will be striking a pose to help the cause. Although a picture of me is probably priceless, the $1 for charity will be a good thing.
The Wizards currently have the third most losses in the NBA as 53 games and counting haven't gone their way. The Wizards last winning steak, 2-0, came from Jan. 15th through Jan. 17th. In March the Wiz are 2-9 with four games left to play this month. And 33 of those 53 losses have come on the road … hopefully 54 will come Friday night at the Pepsi Center.
The Wizards have a couple new faces in their lineup. Shooting guards Othyus Jeffers and Jordan Crawford (from the Spurs and Hawks respectively) are getting time to gel with their new club due to the injury of starting shooting guard Nick Young. Young, who is averaging 17.7 points per game, has missed the team’s last five games.
The 22 year-old Crawford has been impressive. He’s averaged over 20-minutes per game over the team’s last nine games and is averaging 17.7 points in that span and has scored over 20 points in five of those contests. The Wizards have some nice pieces in Crawford, John Wall, 20 years-old, Young, 25 years-old and monsterous center JaVale McGee, 23 years-old.
Compare the Wizards players under 25 years-old with the Nuggets crew of: Danilo Gallinari, 22, Kosta Koufos, 22, Ty Lawson, 23, Wilson Chandler, 23, Timofey Mozgov, 24, Arron Afflalo, 25 and J.R. Smith, 25. Which group would you rather have?
The Nuggets have a great chance to get a nice winning streak going as they face the Wiz Friday night and the Kings twice (in Denver and in Sacramento) before going to L.A. to face the Lakers. Lawson and Company are currently on a two game win streak and have a great chance to be on a five game streak by the time they play L.A. on April 3rd.
The Nuggets have done a nice job of playing against sub .500 teams since in the A.M. era (After Melo). Denver is 3-1 against sub .500 teams in their past 15 games with the new kids. The lone loss came against the Clippers in Los Angeles by 6 points. In the three wins the Nuggets have made those no-doubter wins with point differentials of 40 against the Bobcats, 30 against the Pistons and 33 points against the Raptors.
The question shouldn't be, "are the Nuggets going to win?" It should be, "by how many points are the Nuggets going to win by?"
Views you can use:
- The Nuggets are 4-0 with me in attendance this season with wins against the Clippers (twice), Raptors and Spurs. I should probably attend every game from here out … championship? Who wants to start a "Nate's ticket fund" fund? Traveling across the country might get expensive.
- Gallo is averaging 15.5 points per game since returning from injury in the Nuggets last four games. No word yet on when J.R. is going to loan him some hops to finish in traffic …
- Before becoming a Nugget this season Raymond Felton was shooting 86.7% from the free throw line. Since coming over to the Nuggets, Felton is just 15-29 from the charity stripe, that's 51.7% …
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