The Warriors always seem to have a little extra for nationally televised games. That could mean trouble for the tank Saturday night as the Warriors square off in Oakland with the Denver Nuggets. The Warriors should have relatively fresh legs despite playing in Utah Friday night — only David Lee played more than 32 minutes — and played the Nuggets well during their meeting earlier this season. Fortunately, the Nuggets are right at the edge of the Western Conference playoffs and have every reason to win this game. Now is not the time for the Warriors to play spoilers.
Aside from tank dynamics, the Nuggets should provide good tests for the Warriors' rookies' development. Klay Thompson will have to score against an elite defender in Aaron Afflalo. Ty Lawson is the type of strong guard that Charles Jenkins won't necessarily be able to overpower. And JaVale McGee — for all his hype — is currently putting up numbers from the Denver bench that look a lot like Jeremy Tyler's current production. Win or lose, this game should be a nice benchmark for judging how far the rookies have come — and have to go.
If the Warriors are going to make the playoffs next year, they're going to need to find ways to get past teams like Denver. But they don't need to find that way Saturday night. A win in this game would cripple, if not destroy, the Warriors' tanking efforts. The team has done a masterful job recently of playing just poorly enough to secure narrow losses, no matter the quality of the opponent. Hopefully that delicate balancing act continues.
As always, drop your thoughts below.
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