Preview: Warriors meet Nuggets in battle of MVPs

How many losses is too many losses when you have the second best record in the NBA? That’s the question Dub Nation is pondering as their favorite team cruises into the All-Star break.

But perhaps the better question is if I told them before the season started that the team would win 72% of their games from October to February despite missing Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and James Wiseman for extended periods...would they be happy?

Meanwhile their opponent, the Denver Nuggets, are currently slotted as the sixth seed while dealing with an injury to their star guard Jamal Murray. He suffered his knee injury last season facing the Dubs when Denver was heating up for a potential deep playoff run. Now there’s a chance he could come back, along with injured forward Michael Porter Jr.:

Whoa, if those dudes can regain any of the form that we’ve seen from in the past, the Nuggets could immediately vault to the short list of championship contenders. A major reason for that is the dominant play of reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Denver’s center is ranked 7th in the NBA in points (27.0 PPG), 2nd in rebounds (13.7 RPG), and 8th in assists (7.9 APG). WHAT?!

That’s not great news for a Warriors team that is lacking former defensive player of the year Draymond Green and their 7-foot #2 pick in the 2020 draft James Wiseman. The Dubs have struggled defensively recently, putting up the 19th best defensive rating in the league over their last 10 games. Even still...they’re the best defensive team in the league! Just don’t tell head coach Steve Kerr that:

Then again the Nuggets have to slow down Golden State’s Splash Bros. Stephen Curry is right behind Jokic in scoring at 25.8 per game, and his backcourt mate Klay Thompson is regaining the form that made him an All-Star. Thompson shot 3-of-14 in a loss to the Clippers one game for erupting for 33 points against the Lakers. Great players usually avoid multiple bad games in a row; I’d expect Killa Klay to put some work in on Denver.

Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets

February 16th, 2022 | 7:00 PT

Watch: NBC Sports Bay Area | Listen: 95.7 The Game