By Steve Martin
Charlotte at Denver
January 25, 2010
First stop of the mega 6-game tour of the West is Denver. Tonight the Bobcats deal with the mile-high altitude but they won't have to deal with Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets leading scorer is out with a left ankle sprain. J. R. Smith is facing possible suspension for missing an optional work out on Sunday. Those type of workouts aren't optional if you've just scored 3 points a game over the last two.
The Bobcats can't worry about who's not going to be in tonight's battle with Denver. They've lost two straight and have dropped from 5th to 7th in the wild race for the final four playoff holes in the East. The schedule maker dropped a bomb on the Bobcats with the start of this trip. First came a road and home back to back with Atlanta and Orlando, then a travel day consisting of a 3-plus hour flight to Denver. Then back to back tonight and tomorrow night with Denver and Phoenix. The Bobcats will spend two days in Phoenix before departing for San Francisco Thursday.
Rex Chapman heads up player personnel for the Nuggets. His NBA career began in Charlotte in 1988 with the Hornets. He became close friends with my partner Dell Curry during their time together. Rex used to baby sit for Dell and Sonya when their son Steph was born.
Back to tonight's game. While Anthony won't play, Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin and Aaron Afflalo are playing and at a very high level. The Nuggets have won 6 straight and sport a 20-3 record at home. Raymond Felton's ankle is better by the hour and everyone participated in shoot-around this morning.
Game time on Sports South in HD is 8:30EST with Bobcats Live. See the game on Dish at channel 450, HD 9518-on Direct TV at channel 645, HD 645-1.
