The Denver Nuggets suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday night, greatly hurting Denver’s chances at a spot in the playoffs this season.
Sunday’s loss, mixed with Portland’s victory, pushed the Nuggets out as the holders of the Western Conference’s final playoff spot for the first time since February 3.
Despite the catastrophe on the hardwood Sunday, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone believes his team has the tenacity to bounce back as the playoffs loom.
“I’m not going to overreact because this is not who we have been,” Malone said. “We have been a very good basketball team lately and I think we will get back to that next game in Portland.”
Tuesday’s game against the Trail Blazers is a must-win if Denver wants to keep pace with Portland for the final playoff spot in the West. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Nuggets current odds to make the playoffs sits at just 16 percent following Sunday’s defeat.
Although the Nuggets are now on the outside looking in, the team’s demeanor will not change.
“Bring it,” forward Darrell Arthur said of the what the team needs to do the rest of season. “We have a playoff goal in mind… If we want to win games, we have to compete. We need to take every possession seriously and we can’t be lackadaisical. We have to come out and compete.”
It’s one game at a time for the Nuggets, like it has been all season. Denver knows they are better than what was on display Sunday and are banking on re-finding their chemistry as the season dwindles down and the doors of opportunity begin to close.
“We just got to get back to playing the way we have been playing for a long period of time,” Malone said. “That’s why I’m not going to overreact to this loss … We take it one game at a time.”
The outcome of Tuesday’s contest in Portland will likely dictate where the Nuggets finish when the season wraps up.
