Game Review: Washington Wizards 2/22/13

Result: 
DEN-113
WAS-119

Now let's take a look at the keys to the game.

1st Quarter Defense- Failed: Once again, the Nuggets went on the road, and allowed a team that isn't as good as them to gain confidence, letting the Wizards score 33 in the first. The Nuggets seemed to cruise through the first 3 quarters, and hoped to make a push for the win in the fourth (as seems to be a theme this year on the road). This allows teams like the Wizards to gain confidence that comes into play in the fourth.

#2. Hit your free throws!!! Passed: This is something that the Nuggets actually did well tonight. Unfortunately it didn't play too much of a role in the game.

#3. Run, Run, And Run: Failed: The Nuggets had 17 fastbreak points, 2 under their season average.

Key Match up: Kenneth VS Nene Failed: Although neither played that big of a role in the game, Nene had the better game statistically, scoring 14 and grabbing 4 rebounds, while Kenneth scored a lowly 6 points and grabbed 4 boards.

The Positives 
1. Ty Lawson: Ty continues to play great, he scored  27 points while dishing out 12 assists.
2. The Slumpers improving: The 2 Nuggets players who have been bad shooting slumps (Chandler and Iguodala) shot 11-20. Let's hope they can gain some confidence and continue an upward swing.
3. Fight: Once again, the Nuggets fought back in the fourth. When they were down by 18 in the 3rd, they could have easily laid down and given up. It is encouraging to see a young team like the nuggets never give up.

The Negatives: 
Ty In the Clutch: Ugh, when is Ty going to hit that game winner we all want him to? Ty had two chances to tie or take the lead in the game and missed them both. One was blocked by Nene and the other was a missed 3 pointer.
Lack Of Effort On The Road: Where is the effort on the road that we see at home games? I understand there is a difference playing in front of your own fans and playing against other team's fans, but the difference really shouldn't be this drastic.
Danilo Gallinari: Danilo dinged his hip and didn't play well the rest of the night, lets hope it isn't anything that will keep him out of any games.

Summery: Another bad loss on the road from a bad road team. If the Nuggets want to get the 4th seed, they have to clean up their road performances. Lets forget about this game and move on to the Bobcats tomorrow.

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Game Preview: At Washington Wizards

     The Nuggets (34-21, 11-18 on the road) will play the first of two back to back road games at Washington (15-37, 11-15 at home) tonight at 5:00 PM Mountain Time. While many people may think this is a gimme game for the Nuggets, I would disagree. The first and most obvious reason being that the Wizards are one of the only 3 teams to beat the Nuggets at home. The second being that the Nuggets road record is 11-18, which is worse than the Wizards home record, 11-15. Let's face it, the Nuggets have been a pretty bad road team so far, if they can improve on road games and keep up the pace at home, they should be able to lock up that 4th seed and home court for the playoffs. This is a perfect game to start gaining confidence on the road. Here are my 3 keys to winning tonight's game.

#1. 1st Quarter Defense: My first key is essential to beating any selfish (9th fewest assists in the league) jump shot happy team like the Wizards. While The Wizards offensive style won't win many games, it can be extremely dangerous if they hit their early shots and gain confidence. If the Nuggets play with the defensive intensity from the opening tip, the Wizards don't have a chance, and this could be a blowout.

#2. Hit your free throws!!!: One thing the Wizards do pretty well is keeping their opponents off the free throw line (16th fewest FTs allowed), while the Nuggets shoot a league low from the line at 68%.

#3. Run, Run, And Run: Once again keeping with the theme of playing against a jump shooting team, with lots of long jumpshots, comes lots of long rebounds that enable plenty of fast break opportunities.

Key Match up: Kenneth VS Nene
You have to love this, a player going up against the player who made him expendable. The first match up wasn't that great, Kenneth had the slight edge on a nervous looking Nene who seemed to be trying to do too much in front of his old fans. This should be interesting to watch.

While the Nuggets should be able to pull out a win tonight, the Wizards have the ability to make this a close game in the fourth. Look for a post game review following the game to review my keys!

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