Today is the start of a new day, as the Denver Nuggets finally come back home after a lengthy road trip.
Six of the Nuggets last seven games have been on the road, which ironically hasn’t been too bad for the Nuggets, given that they actually have a better record on the road than they do at home (12-13 overall, 4-6 at the Pepsi Center). This is surely a trend they hope to turn around, as they’ll welcome in a favorable schedule in their next three: Trail Blazers (13-14), Knicks (14-11) and Mavericks (6-19).
The Nuggets are coming off arguably their worst loss of the young season, as they were blown out by an injury-ridden, underachieving Mavericks team that is tied for the worst record in the NBA.
The Nuggets are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference, and if things don’t get turned around soon, the playoffs may already be out of the question.
There is still a chance, though. Portland is currently sitting in that eighth and final playoff seed, and if the Nuggets beat them tonight, they’ll only be two games out of the postseason.
But if they lose … they’ll be four games out, a tough hole to climb out from.
Here’s what the Nuggets have to do to get that win:
Limit Damian Lillard
Obvious, I know, but does that make it any less true?
Through 27 games, Lillard is averaging 27.3 points, 5.8 assist and 4.7 rebounds per game, all while shooting 45 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from deep. He isn’t having a good year; he’s having a great year.
The good thing for the Nuggets is that they welcome back their two best defensive players in Wilson Chandler and Gary Harris, who’s reported to be starting tonight for the first time in over a month.
Getting both Harris and Chandler back will benefit the Nuggets as they’ll be able to throw different looks his way to slow him down.
If the Nuggets aren’t able to at least make it tough on him, they’ll surely have the same result that they did October 29th when Lillard scored 37 points, including the go-ahead floater with less than a second remaining in overtime.
Good Start
It’s critical that the Nuggets get off to good start and not fall behind early. In the last three games, the Nuggets decided to put Darrell Arthur in the starting rotation in place of Kenneth Faried, but it’s been a bit of a mixed bag.
Against the Wizards and Magic, Denver jumped out to an early first quarter lead, but agains the Mavericks, the worst team in the Western Conference, they trailed 27-19 and were ultimately blown out by 20.
Tonight, it sounds as if the Nuggets may be inline to make some significant changes to their starting lineup, and it should start with the guy below:
Insert Nikola Jokic
After the loss to the Mavericks, Coach Malone said, “Thursday night, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was more change to the starting lineup.”
If any change occurs, it needs to start with Nikola Jokic.
It’s no secret who Denver’s best player has been over their last 10 games. In fact, in the last six games, Jokic has recorded five double-doubles, and in a 20-point loss against the Mavericks, Jokic had his best game of the season, finishing with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists.
Jokic has clearly been the Nuggets’ most effective player, and when he’s on the floor, they’re winning. If Malone can start giving him larger minutes, Denver will be in line for more victories.