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The Denver Nuggets experimented with two 7-footers in the starting lineup but it didnt work out. They stumbled to a 3-5 record with Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic manning the post together, so coach Michael Malone inserted Kenneth Faried at power forward.It took a couple of games but the Nuggets finally got a win with Faried starting and Jokic coming off the bench. Turns out, Faried thought he should have been starting all along.When I came out of that starting spot, it kind of gave me a wakeup call, Faried said after Denvers 120-104 win over Phoenix on Wednesday. Like, Hey, you need to get back to who you are.Faried had 20 points and 15 rebounds, both season highs, in the win, and he and the Nuggets want to ride that momentum against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.The Nuggets (4-7) also want to get even with the Raptors, who won the first meeting between the teams, 105-102, in Toronto on Oct. 31.The Raptors (7-4) are going to be hungry for a win after losing back-to-back games to the two NBA Finals teams from last season. Toronto lost by four at Cleveland on Tuesday and then fell to Golden State at home on Wednesday.These two games are a good test for us, they let us know how quickly mental mistakes will cost you and breakdowns will cost you and then in the second half when we got focused in, locked in, we started switching some things properly, talking, communicating we kind of got back in the game, Toronto coach Dwane Casey told the Toronto Sun. But you cant have lulls like that against great teams.Star guard DeMar DeRozan hasnt had any lulls this season. He has scored 30 or more points in nine games this season, including 34 against the Warriors on a night he was 17-for-17 from the line.One of those 30-point games came against Denver. He had 33, and his backcourt mate, Kyle Lowry, had 29.Stopping those two will be a tall task for the Nuggets. Their best perimeter defender, Gary Harris, is out with a foot injury and Will Barton hasnt played since spraining his ankle against Toronto, leaving Denver thin at guard.Malone started backup point guard Jameer Nelson against the Suns and went with a three-guard rotation with rookie Jamal Murray. It worked well enough against the Suns, but it will be a different story against the Raptors.Fridays game is the beginning of four road games in six nights for Toronto. The Raptors also play Sacramento, the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston.The Pacific Division-leading Clippers will provide a tough challenge, but Denver thinks it has found something with Faried back in the lineup, so the Nuggets will be tough to beat, especially after getting their first home win in four games.Very happy to get the monkey off our back, get the first home win, Malone said. Now we have to turn around and get ready for Toronto.Cheap Authentic Vapormax . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. Cheap Vapormax Womens .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. http://www.cheapvapormaxtrainers.com/cheap-vapormax-mens.html . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Nike Vapormax Outlet . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Cheap Vapormax . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury.TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Kent State coach Paul Haynes has been on the other side of these powerhouse-versus-underdog games.The former Ohio State assistant is bringing his team in to face No. 1 Alabama on Saturday as the David in this battle with a college football Goliath. He isnt banking on catching Nick Sabans team unprepared even for a game against a six-touchdown underdog while coming off an emotional win over No. 23 Mississippi.As a coach you worry about these as far as preparation, Haynes said. I think thats what (Saban) has mastered. I think thats what he does the best of anyone in the country, that it doesnt matter who they play, theyre never out of the game and they always prepare a certain way. They dont have choices. He doesnt give them a lot of choices. This is the way they do it, and thats why the machine keeps rolling the way it is.This game with Kent State (1-2) might be viewed as a respite for the Crimson Tide (3-0) after that 48-43 win over the Rebels, but its got a special element for Saban. Hes a 1973 Kent State graduate who played on the Golden Flashes only conference champion as a senior.Tide players insist theyre not relaxing for this game, and not just because its the head coachs alma mater.There are no down shifts, Tide linebacker Ryan Anderson said. Were going to practice this week like were preparing for the national championship. Thats the only way were going to get better as a team. You cant down shift and then pick it back up. You just cant do it.---Some other things to know about this game:WAXING NOSTALGIC: Saban said its been awhile since hes been able to visit Kent State, but he speaks fondly of his time there, especially that championship season. Coach Don James talked a reluctant Saban into working as a graduate assistant, starting a coaching career thats led to five national championships so far. At the time, he wasnt sure he wanted to coach or go to graduate school.ddddddddddddTheres a lot of things that impacted my life in a very positive way because of the people and the relationships that were developed there, Saban said.INJURED RECEIVERS: Alabama receivers ArDarius Stewart and Robert Foster are both questionable for the game with knee injuries. Stewart, who was hurt in the Ole Miss game, is one of the SECs top receivers with 13 catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Foster, a former starter, was injured in practice Tuesday.SABAN VISIT: Saban took some time out to chat with a fellow Kent State alum when Haynes visited one spring five or six years ago, even delaying a staff meeting to continue the talk. Then at Ohio State, Haynes was visiting the Tides then-director of football operations Todd Alles when Saban walked in and said he had some time to talk. So we went in his office and probably met for about an hour one on one and just talked DB stuff and defensive philosophy-type stuff, Haynes said. They had a staff meeting so coaches started coming in and he kind of held off the staff meeting and everybody was kind of looking at me like, `Who is this dude?TOP DEFENDERS: Alabamas not the only team with star defenders. Kent State safety Nate Holleys 15.7 tackles per game ranks second nationally and hes tops in solo tackles averaging nine a game. Defensive end Terence Waughs five sacks are tied for second in the nation.YOUNG QBS: Tide freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts is expected to start for the third straight game, though Saban hasnt made any kind of announcement on the topic. Kent State starts a redshirt freshman QB in Mylik Mitchell. Both have thrown only one interception so far.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '