The Denver Nuggets Have a Streak of Their Own Going

There’s been a lot of attention paid to the Miami Heat’s 19-game win streak, and rightfully so. However, there’s another team in the NBA right now that’s ripped off an impressive streak of wins. The Denver Nuggets won nine games in a row before the Knicks game, often in impressive fashion, and they’re virtually untouchable on their home court. They’re a young, fast team, and while they may have defensive lapses (they’re currently 25^th in the league in points allowed), their athleticism and ability to turn on the after burners in the second half has won them game after game.

“I think we’re being understanding and responsive,” Karl said. “I still get disappointed in our first-half performances, but we make second-half adjustments and come out with the right attitude. We’re young in a lot of ways, but we’re also very good in a lot of ways, too.”

The Nuggets are certainly benefiting from a weak second-half schedule, though that doesn’t tell the whole story; they’re third in the NBA in points per game with 105.9, third in rebounds with 44.9, and second in assists with 24.6. In other words, this team can score easily, and score a lot. They may not have a superstar, but they have a roster full of fringe All-Stars, and that’s good enough.

Last night, the Denver Nuggets played the New York Knicks in a much-anticipated battle between two of the league’s most entertaining teams.

“This game is going to be crazy,” Denver’s star point guard Ty Lawson said before the game. “It will be exciting. Probably the most exciting game of the year. There is going to be so much energy in the gym and they will have the fire to beat us.”

Of course, there was an even bigger subplot for the game: Carmelo Anthony’s return to his former stomping ground.

“I grew up here, I mean, sort of to say. This is where I started my career,” he said. “I was 18, 19 years old when I came here. This city grew with me, I grew with the city. We had a lot of good times here in Denver, as a team, as a community. And then it came to a point where we had to split ways. … It was a mutual agreement, both parties agreed upon that. … No hard feelings. It was a business decision at that point. Even when the trade happened, the guys, they got back and to finish off the season the way they did that year and then to rebuild the way they did and get the team that George was really looking forward to having, a young team, fast-paced team, up-tempo team, I think this is one of the better teams that he’s coached.”

The Nuggets were seven point favorites heading into the game. Here were some of the other betting trends for both squads, courtesy of OddsShark.com:

New York Knicks Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 6-4
Before playing Portland are 2-8
After playing Golden State are 4-6
After a loss are 7-3

Denver Nuggets Trends:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
Before playing Memphis are 5-5
After playing Phoenix are 7-3
After a win are 8-2

A few Knicks at Nuggets trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York’s last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York’s last 6 games when playing Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York’s last 5 games on the road
New York is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Denver is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver’s last 6 games