It has been a thrilling week for the Denver Nuggets, but it ended on a sour note Sunday with a 124-88 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
With the loss, Denver’s record moves to 49-23, which is still good for a tie atop the Western Conference standings with Golden State.
Even as the Nuggets finished their week on a bad note, it started tremendously as they clinched their first playoff berth six-years with a 114-105 victory over the Boston Celtics. That win came on Monday, which the Nuggets followed with two more victories, one against the Washington Wizards and another against the New York Knicks. Both of those wins came in dominating fashion as the Nuggets had no hangover effect from their playoff clinching victory over Boston.
Because of the Nuggets phenomenal four-game road trip — excluding Sunday’s game –they are now in prime position to clinch home court in the first round of the playoffs. As long as Denver can finish in the top-4 once the regular season ends, they will clinch home court for at least round one of the postseason.
In order to do that, the Nuggets are going to have to string together some wins to close the regular season, which will start on Tuesday in a home matchup against the Detroit Pistons. Then, Denver arguably plays two of their biggest games of the regular with a back-to-back in Houston and Oklahoma City.
The Rockets and Thunder are both trying to catch Denver and secure home court as Houston is currently three and a half games behind the Nuggets. As long as Denver can fend of Houston, it could mean the Nuggets will be able to avoid a team they have struggled with all season until at least the second round of the playoffs.
If the Nuggets are able to lock up a top-2 seed, it will most likely mean a date with either Oklahoma City, Utah, San Antonio, or the Clippers in round one. All four of those teams are currently separated by just a game and a half for seeds 5-8, which means Denver’s first round opponent is basically a toss up at this point.
One major benefit of Denver finishing as a top-2 seed is the fact they will not have to face Golden State till at least the Western Conference Finals. That is big for the Nuggets chance at making a title run as they could avoid playing the defending world champions until their third round matchup.
With 10 games remaining in the regular season, buckle up for what should be an exciting finish to Denver’s season as they look to secure home court advantage and head into the postseason strong.