The Denver Nuggets season has been riddled with peaks and valley’s, and as the team progresses on their current upswing, winning three of their last four games, the skew of contests ahead are what could make or break this season.
As it stands, the Nuggets sit at 17-24, which is not great by any means, but is good enough to have them in within striking distance of the 8th seed in the Western Conference.
Playing their best basketball of the season, the Nuggets head into a stretch of games that they need to come out on the winning end of if they want to really kick things into gear and seriously contend for a spot in this seasons playoffs.
Starting Saturday, their schedule over the next seven days is as follows:
- Saturday – vs Los Angeles Clippers
- Monday – @Minnesota
- Tuesday – vs Utah
- Thursday – vs Phoenix
- Saturday 1/28 – @Phoenix
All of the games are winnable, and are ultimately games that could decide their fate this season.
As it stands, the Nuggets have played 41 games, marking the halfway point of the 2016-2017 campaign. It’s at this time of year where the contenders and the pretenders start to distinguish themselves, and with the 8th seed in sight the Nuggets need to relish any opportunity they get to give them an edge for the final spot, and right now they are in a prime position to cash in.
Nikola Jokic has been the talk of the league the past few days, the Nuggs offense has been red hot, and Michael Malone’s defense has finally started to settle in. Quite frankly, the Nuggets have been trending upwards since their voyage across the globe to London, a trip that seems to have brought this team a lot closer.
Bottom line is the Nuggets are in the position to provide themselves with one thing they have lacked all season long: consistency.
It’s been like one step forward and two back for a majority of the year, but for the first time it seems like the good has outweighed the bad in this recent stretch, with the games ahead providing an opportunity to establish a flow and identity.
It’s clear at this point that Nikola Jokic is the guy for the Nuggets this season, and the team as a unit has gotten behind the idea with the results showing in the past week or so.
Now, with five games ahead, all against team’s that are either under five hundred, familiar, or banged up the Nuggets have the chance to establish a swagger that could carry them the rest of the season.
Last season the Portland Trail Blazers were able to catch fire and run with it, and now the Nuggets may be in a position to do something similar.
Nikola Jokic is the real deal, the supporting cast has been rock solid, and they have won three of their last four with five winnable games in a row ahead to round out the month.
Now is a perfect time for Nuggets to establish the identity and level of consistency they have been searching for all season long. It’s not going to be easy, but it is something the team will need to do if they want to make the jump from a rebuilding group to a squad on the rise in the West.
The ball is in the Nuggets court. Game on.