The Denver Nuggets are currently the placeholder of the eighth seed in the Western Conference of the NBA. The Nuggets only helped their cause after beating the defending champs the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, 126-113. Nuggets Insider for Altitude Sports Chris Dempsey joined Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro during Afternoon Drive on Mile High Sports Radio to discuss the significance of the game, as well as the future of the team’s season.
“The Nuggets have as good of an offense that you’ll find,” said Dempsey, “but when you don’t play defense to any kind of consistency then you’re kind of prone to not only the wild swings, but games that look like let downs.”
One of the highlighted events in the game was when rising star power forward Nikola Jokic backed down and scored over Cleveland’s LeBron James.
“It’s a basketball move,” said Dempsey. “I think for me, when I watched that play, it was more of a team-defining moment than just an individual-defining moment. I think what that spoke to me was of a Nuggets team that is not only just not backing down. This was not just a, hey we’re not backing down to the defending champions. This was literally standing up and hitting first, and saying it’s not a back down situation, it’s a I’m going to hit you and see how you respond situation.”
Although the Nuggets took home a win against the Cavs, they have to remain consistent in their next game, on Friday against the Indiana Pacers. Something they have been better ar since beating the Golden State Warriors in February.
“You’re talking about a team that was a lot shakier defensively back then it is now, and it is still is shaky defensively,” Dempsey said. “It was worse back then [when they played the Warriors], and when you play like that you are prone to these wild swings.”
Listen to the full interview with Chris Dempsey, as well as his thoughts on Lavar Ball’s latest actions, in the podcast below.
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Catch Afternoon Drive with Goodman and Shapiro every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
