After one of the most lopsided losses in NBA history, the New Orleans Hornets look to rebound tonight, April 29, against the Denver Nuggets who have a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference best of seven series. Denver won both home games against the Hornets in commanding fashion. NBA oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com have the Nuggets as -10.5 point home favs over the Hornets with the over/under set at 198 points. Be sure to get your 2009 NBA Playoffs Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Hornets Prediction in now at Sportsbook.com
The Hornets don’t want to go out like they did in Game 4, where Chris Paul had a low 4pt night. "The pressure is on them to close us out," Hornets All-Star David West said. "We have to go up there with the mind-set that we have to do everything in our power to keep the game close." just like they did in Game 3 where they won by two points. Their top scorer in Game 4 was David West with 14pts. The biggest reason for their loss was their terrible shooting. They made 17 of 54 (31.5%) from the field, 2 for 15 (13.3%) from the arch and 27 of 32 (84.4%) from the line, which is reasonable. They have to get Paul open looks at the basket and drive the hoop to create fouls, he was constantly double teamed last game. During the regular season the Hornets averaged 95 ppg and gave up an average 97.5 ppg.
The Nuggets message to their players, don’t be over confident. "That's the biggest key right there. When you win a game by that kind of a margin, you kind of feel like you're on top of the world," Billups said. "I told them after the game last night, 'Enjoy it. You should enjoy it, you deserve to enjoy it. … But come tomorrow, it's back to business." Despite a 121-63 shellacking the Nuggets must play their game. "It's a hard game because the team that you're facing knows that they have to do every single thing that they can to try to stay alive," Billups said. "And any time you're in a desperate situation, it's a dangerous situation." I bet the Nuggets are glad to have Chauncey Billups on their side in the playoffs; Billups is currently averaging 25 ppg after averaging 17.9 ppg during the regular season. Carmelo Anthony has dropped a little after averaging 22.8 ppg in the regular season and 21.5 ppg in the playoffs. Their top producers in Game 4 were Carmelo Anthony with 26pts, while Chauncey Billups added 17pts 8 assists and Nene had 13pts. The Nuggets bench has been great added an additional 37pts. Their strategy, "We compared it to like a football (strategy)," Karl said. "We want Chris Paul to feel like he's being blitzed."
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in Denver.
- Hornets are 0-5 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
- Nuggets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
- Nuggets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Conference Quarterfinals games.
- Nuggets are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 vs. NBA Southwest.
- Nuggets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
- Nuggets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. Western Conference.
- Nuggets are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite.
2009 NBA Playoffs Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Hornets
When: Wed, April 29, 2009 10:00 PM ET
Line: Sportsbook.com
Pick: Nuggets -10.5
Point-Spreads.com 2009 NBA Playoffs Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Hornets
The Bottom Line: It’s all Nuggets all night long. Bye bye Hornets. Go Nuggets! Be sure to get your 2009 NBA Playoffs Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Hornets Prediction in now at Sportsbook.com and receive a 10% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit
