Warriors State Rolling
The Golden State Warriors are looking like the team that led the league for the early months of the season as they again put on an offensive performance to envy in their 126-106 win in Game 2.
Denver simply couldn’t find a way to slow the Warriors, who are playing with a certain swagger that we haven’t seen from them since their title winning dynasty.
The challenge for them is to go out and do the same on the road in a difficult environment.
Let’s check the latest NBA Picks, stats, injury reports, and NBA Odds for Warriors vs Nuggets. We’ve plenty of NBA Playoffs Odds for you to consider.
Denver Running Out of Options
“That’s two games in a row where you’re in the game, then snap of the finger you’re out of the game, and it just seems like it happens that quickly.”
Those were the words from Denver head coach Mike Malone after Game 2.
That also resulted in Nuggets’ players getting into altercations during the game as tempers boiled over at their inability to stop the bleeding in the third quarter.
Nikola Jokic got himself ejected and the arguments continued in the locker room afterwards.
The message in the aftermath has been clear; rally together and play as a team or face being swept for the second successive season.
The problem for Denver Nuggets is that even if they are united they simply do not have the personnel to keep pace with an offense that has the explosive potential that the Warriors possess right now.
Even if they are able to steady things defensively, things aren’t going particularly smoothly at the other end of the floor with Draymond Green doing a terrific job in helping stifle the soon-to-be two-time league MVP in Jokic.
Kerr Keeping Level-Headed
Despite the impressive efforts through their first two games Steve Kerr has maintained his message that holding serve is the easy part – they need to go and do it on the road.
Jordan Poole’s playoff career has been nothing shy of scintillating through the first two games and the only real dilemma for Kerr at the moment is whether to re-integrate Steph Curry to the starting lineup or leave things as they are for now.
Curry has been arguably the most efficient he’s been since his incredible start to the season in the first few weeks, which in turn has made things almost impossible for Denver to solve given their shortcomings off the bench.
Maintaining fluidity will be the primary point of emphasis for Golden State and Kerr has always been a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” type of coach.
Taking that mantra into Game 3 is arguably the best approach for a team that is clicking on all cylinders and has the entire team buying into the process – unlike the team on the other side of the court.
Warriors vs Nuggets Head-to-Head
The Golden State Warriors were 126-106 winners in Game 2, again covering the 7½ point spread in the process.
The Warriors are 2-0 straight-up and 2-0 against-the-spread (ATS) in this series.
Warriors vs Nuggets Game Information
- Game: Warriors (53-29) vs Nuggets (48-34)
- Location: Ball Arena
- Day/Time: Thursday, April 21st. 10 p.m. ET
- Warriors vs Nuggets Live Stream: NBA Game Pass
Warriors vs Nuggets Betting Lines
Warriors vs Nuggets Prediction
The Warriors simply look to be at a level that the Nuggets can’t match.
The level of ability and efficiency at either end of the floor from Golden State is causing constant headaches for Denver.
The Nuggets have started well in both meetings this series but things unravel quickly and there doesn’t seem to be anything they can do to stop it from happening with the roster being in its current state.
A fully healthy Denver team is a genuine contender, but with Michael Porter Jr and Jamal Murray both out this is starting to look like a repeat of last season’s playoff exit.
If you’re betting online in this one, take the road team to get the job done again.
Pick: Golden State Warriors -1½
