Nuggets look to bounce back from home-loss to 76ers against Golden State

The Denver Nuggets are looking to regain their footing in the western conference playoff race after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers at home. They now face the tough task of beating the Golden State Warriors in Oakland at the most intimidating home-court in the Association; Oracle Arena.

Regular season game No. 33 | Denver Nuggets (14-19) vs Golden State Warriors (29-5)

Oracle Arena, Oakland, California  | 8:30 PM MST | TV: Altitude

Limit self-inflicted issues

The Nuggets beat themselves in the last meeting with the Warriors. They turned the ball over at an alarming rate, led by Nurkic with four, and were forced to try to shoot their way back into a game against the Warriors,  almost always a losing proposition.

“You cannot have 19 turnovers for 33 points,” Malone explained at practice. “They lead the league in steals, they lead the league in blocks, they lead the league in defensive field goal percentage. Especially in Oakland, to have any chance at a competitive game, forget winning, just to have a competitive game, you cannot beat yourself.”

If the Nuggets can protect the ball it will go a long way in keeping them in the game. Giving away possessions to one of the best offensive units in basketball is a recipe for disaster, especially for a Nuggets team that is allowing opponents to score 108.6 per games.

Slowing the Warriors offense

It is not breaking news to say that the Warriors are one of the best shooting teams of all time. If the Nuggets hope to stay in the game it will be because they somehow found a way to limit their three-point shooting and that starts with not turning the ball over.

“They hit 15 threes and Steph hit 7. A lot of those in transition off of turnovers; pull up 3, pull up 3,” said Malone. “So we have to make sure we do a good job of defending the three-point line.

What is even more impressive is how their prolific three-point shooting makes the rest of their offense so devastating. They are not only impressive shooting from distance but they scathe teams in the paint as well.

“Then on top of that they are such a tough cover because they are 4th in three-point shooting but they are also 1st in points in the paint,” Malone explained at practice. “They are scoring close to 50 points in the paint.”

If the Nuggets hope to come away with a victory it will be because they found a way to limit the Warriors offensively and continued to score at their current pace. The Nuggets are actually scoring a half point better than the Warriors one the past eight games, 114.9 to 114.5 points per game, and will need to continue that trend if they are to leave Oracle with a win.