The Warriors out-rebounded the Nuggets 55-44 and they held them to 34.7% shooting from the floor to put them away for good.  Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors last night with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals.  Draymond Green (16 points, 1o rebounds and 1 assist in 24 minutes) and Andrew Bogut (14 points, 21 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots in 39 minutes) helped the Warriors control the paint last night.  Jarrett Jack (13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 27 minutes) and Harrison Barnes (11 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist) also pitched in for the Warriors in this game.  The Warriors have knocked out the Nuggets 4-2, and they will travel to San Antonio to start a series with the Spurs this coming up Monday.

20-year old rookie small forward Harrison Barnes had a solid rookie year for the Warriors.  He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Warriors during the regular season and he averaged 25.4 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Not bad for a rookie.  But, Barnes has really stepped up his game so far in the playoffs against the Nuggets.  Barnes has played in 5 games (all starts) for the Warriors so far against the Nuggets in the playoffs and he is averaging 35.4 minutes, 15.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He is shooting a very impressive 47.5% from the floor, 46.2% from three point range and 83.0% from the free throw line so far in the playoffs.  The Warriors hope that Barnes keeps up the good work.

The Warriors just couldn’t keep up with an inspired Nuggets’ squad in Denver last night.  Harrison Barnes (23 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Jarrett Jack (20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) led the way for the Warriors last night.  Klay Thompson (19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Stephen Curry (15 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 blocked shot) also played well for the Warriors last night.  The Warriors are still up 3-2 in this series.

The Warriors shot 55.7% from the floor and that trumped the fact that they were out-rebounded 37-29 last night.  Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors last night with 31 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals.  Jarrett Jack also had a solid game with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 blocked shot last night.  Carl Landry (17 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal in 18 minutes), Klay Thompson (13 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals), Draymond Green (13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 1 blocked shot in 25 minutes) and Andrew Bogut (12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots in 26 minutes) also pitched in with solid games for the Warriors.  The Warriors are now up 3-1 in this series.

The Warriors shot 52.5% from the floor and they out-rebounded the Nuggets 42-34 last night and it helped them win a tough one.  Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals.  Jarrett Jack (23 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot), Harrison Barnes (19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Carl Landry (19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) also pitched in for the Warriors in this game.  The Warriors are now up 2-1 on the Nuggets in this series.

With starting power forward David Lee out for the season, head coach Mark Jackson elected to go small by starting three guards and the result was a nice win in Game #2 against the Nuggets and a very impressive 131 points.  Look for the Warriors to start Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jarrett Jack together until the Nuggets prove that they can stop them.  Curry has started both games for the Nuggets so far in this series and he is averaging 42.5 minutes, 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 11.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game.  Thompson has started both games against the Nuggets so far and he is averaging 40.0 minutes, 21.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Jack has played in 2 games (1 start) in this series so far and he is averaging 37.5 minutes, 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game.  The Warriors can knock the Nuggets out of this series easily if the Nuggets don’t adjust to trying to slow them down a little bit.

The Warriors went small, playing with three guards and they ran the Nuggets right out of the gym in Denver lat night.  The Warriors shot 64.6% from the floor, 56.3% from the three point line (14 of 25) and they out-rebounded the Nuggets 36-26 last night!  Stephen Curry led the way for the Warriors last night with 30 points, 5 rebounds, 13 assists and 3 steals.  Jarrett Jack (26 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 43 minutes), Harrison Barnes (24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal) and Klay Thompson (21 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists) also had outstanding games for the Warriors last night.  The Warriors have tied up this series at 1 game apiece with the series shifting to Oakland.

The Golden State Warriors lose 29-year old starting power forward David Lee for the rest of the 2012-13 season due to a complete tear in his right hip flexor.  This is a huge loss for the Warriors.  Lee played 29 minutes in the series opening game last night against the Nuggets and he had 10 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Lee played in 79 games (all starts) during the regular season for the Warriors in 2012-13 and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  29-year old Carl Landry will take over for Lee in the starting lineup at power forward.  Landry played in 24 minutes in last night’s game against the Nuggets and he had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Landry played in 81 games (2 starts) for the Warriors in 2012-13 and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Landry is a solid player, so I expect that he will play well, but the Warriors are still going to miss Lee.

The Warriors out-rebounded the Nuggets 55-45 today, but it didn’t matter in the end when Nuggets’ point guard Andre Miller hit a lay up with 1 second left to win the game.  Klay Thompson (22 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocked shots) and Stephen Curry (19 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals) led the way for the Warriors today.  Carl Landry (14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in 24 minutes), David Lee (10 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot in 29 minutes) and Jarrett Jack (10 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists in 33 minutes) also pitched in for the Warriors in this game.  Andrew Bogut was a bright spot for the Warriors in this game, as he played 31 minutes in which he had 9 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots.  The Warriors are now down 1-0 in this series.

The Golden State Warriors have a big time lack of playoff experience coming into their matchup against the Nuggets.  But, they are coming into the playoffs playing solid basketball and the Nuggets have not had much success in the playoffs lately.  Here is a look at the matchups in what should be a very good series:

POINT GUARD:  25-year old Stephen Curry is the main man offensively for the Warriors.  He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 38.2 minutes, 22.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.  Curry is a lights out long range shooter as he nailed 45.3% of this three point attempts in 2012-13.

25-year old Ty Lawson is also a solid point guard, as he is similar in playing style to Curry, despite being nowhere near the shooter he is.  Lawson played in 73 games (71 starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 34.4 minutes, 16.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Lawson has played in 18 games (12 starts) so far in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 14.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

EDGE:  WARRIORS

SHOOTING GUARD:  23-year old Klay Thompson picked up his game for the Warriors in 2012-13.  He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 16.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Thompson is also a good long range shooter as he shot 40.1% from three point range last year.  Like Curry, this will be Thompson’s first shot to play in the playoffs.

29-year old Andre Iguodala plays hard at both ends of the basketball court and he is one of the most unselfish players in the NBA.  He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 34.7 minutes, 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Iguodala has now played in 35 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 39.5 minutes, 13.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

EDGE:  EVEN

SMALL FORWARD:  20-year old Harrison Barnes had a decent rookie year for the Warriors.  He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 25.4 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  The Warriors will be glad if Barnes just plays good defense in this series, as they have other guys to score.

25-year old Wilson Chandler is a solid player when healthy (which he is right now).  Chandler played in 43 games (8 starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 25.1 minutes, 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He has played in 5 games (2 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 23.0 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR NUGGETS

POWER FORWARD:  29-year old David Lee is a machine at scoring and rebounding.  He played in 79 games (all starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  Lee will be making his first trip into the playoffs in this series and I think he’s going to step up.

23-year old Kenneth Faried comes into this season a little bit banged up, but he is a beast in the paint.  He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 28.1 minutes, 11.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.0 steal and 1.0 blocked shot.  He has played in 7 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 27.4 minutes, 10.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: SLIGHT FOR WARRIORS

CENTER:  28-year old Andrew Bogut’s ankle is still bothering him, so the Warriors are going to try to watch his minutes in this series.  He played in 32 games (all starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 24.6 minutes, 5.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  Bogut has played in 5 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 34.4 minutes, 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

24-year old Kosta Koufos had a pretty solid year for the Nuggets.  He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 22.4 minutes, 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  Koufos has played in 13 games (2 starts) so far in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 4.5 minutes, 0.9 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

EDGE:  EVEN

BENCH:  The Warriors have two of the best bench players in the entire NBA in 29-year old guard Jarrett Jack and 29-year old forward Carl Landry.  Jack played in 79 games (4 starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 29.7 minutes, 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.  He has played in 6 games (0 starts) so far in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.5 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.  Landry played in 81 games (2 starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He has played in 25 games (6 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 22.4 minutes, 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  23-year old rookie center Festus Ezeli is likely going to have to play a lot in this series due to the condition of Andrew Bogut’s ankle.  He played in 78 games (41 starts) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 14.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  23-year old rookie small forward Draymond Green didn’t play well as a rookie for the Warriors this year.  He played in 79 games (1 start) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 13.4 minutes, 2.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Green only shot 32.7% from the floor and 20.9% from three point range this year.  If the Warriors were smart, they would play 32-year old Richard Jefferson over Draymond Green in this series.  Jefferson played in 56 games (1 start) for the Warriors this year and he averaged 10.1 minutes, 3.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Jefferson has played in 94 games (71 starts) so far in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 33.9 minutes. 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

The Denver Nuggets also have a pretty talented bench.  37-year old PG/SG Andre Miller is still an excellent basketball player.  He played in 82 games (11 starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 26.2 minutes, 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.  Miller has played in 46 games (39 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 35.5 minutes, 15.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  27-year old SG/SF Corey Brewer is also a pretty solid bench player for the Nuggets.  He played in 82 games (2 starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 24.4 minutes, 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Brewer has played in 13 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 10.7 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  25-year old center JaVale McGee is one of the best backup centers in the NBA.  He played in 79 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 18.1 minutes, 9.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game.  McGee has played in 7 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 25.9 minutes, 8.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 3.1 blocked shots per game.  20-year old rookie shooting guard Evan Fournier has been playing well lately for the Nuggets.  He played in 38 games (4 starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 11.3 minutes, 5.3 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  23-year old power forward Anthony Randolph and 26-year old center Timofey Mozgov could have bigger roles than usual for the Nuggets if Kenneth Faried’s P.T. is limited due to his ankle injury.  Randolph played in 39 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 8.4 minutes, 3.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Mozgov played in 41 games (1 start) for the Nuggets this year and he averaged 8.9 minutes, 2.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  He has played in 7 games (5 starts) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 14.1 minutes, 4.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

EDGE:  NUGGETS

COACHES:  48-year old Mark Jackson really improved the Warriors in his second year in charge.  The Warriors were only 23-43 (34.8%) in Jackson’s first year on the job, but they finished 47-35 (57.3%) this year.  Jackson has yet to coach in the playoffs, so this will be new to him.

61-year old George Karl led the Nuggets to a very impressive 57-25 (69.5%) record this year.  But, he is only 78-101 (43.6%) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career.

EDGE:  SLIGHT FOR THE NUGGETS

PREDICTION:  NUGGETS IN SEVEN GAMES