Have the Denver Nuggets captured some momentum?

After a horrific loss to the Washington Wizards, the Nuggets earned a blowout win over the Atlanta Hawks the next night. They waited four days, then ultimately won against the Los Angeles Clippers by 20+. That game wasn’t awesome, but the final result was, and the Nuggets have now won their last two matchups by a combined 50+ points.

Can they keep it up in another Western Conference tilt?

Let’s delve into the Sacramento Kings matchup:

Denver Nuggets @ Sacramento Kings

Projected Starting Lineups

Denver: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic

Sacramento: De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis

Key Bench Players

Denver: Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, DeAndre Jordan

Sacramento: Keon Ellis, maybe Jae Crowder and Doug McDermott, Alex Len? Colby Jones?

Notable Injuries

Denver: Jamal Murray – PROBABLE, Christian Braun – QUESTIONABLE, Dario Saric – OUT, Vlatko Cancar – OUT, DaRon Holmes II – OUT

Sacramento: Trey Lyles – OUT, Kevin Huerter – DOUBTFUL, Devin Carter – OUT

Key for the Nuggets – Murray’s consistency

Last Friday, Jamal Murray played a pretty good all-around game. He looked quick, agile, and energized, hitting two pull-up three-pointers in the first quarter, getting to the rim, and playing smart defense. Yes, there were a bunch of turnovers, but he wasn’t the only one struggling to hang onto the ball. It was a good all-around return for Murray, who casually dropped that he’s been dealing with some plantar fasciitis during Friday’s postgame as well.

With all that in mind, it’s still important for Murray to string some games together. The Nuggets are entering an easier portion of their schedule, and it would be great to see Murray get going a bit. He wants desperately to figure this out, and perhaps he can find a way against a Kings team that has been up and down defensively.

Can Murray do it again? That’s the key for Denver.

Important Matchup – Short benches

With Trey Lyles out, Kevin Huerter doubtful, and the Nuggets top end rotation reasonably healthy, the Nuggets might have a bench advantage tonight. Russell Westbrook’s energy and playmaking has energized the team a bit. Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson continue to find ways to impact the game. Even DeAndre Jordan had a solid game against the Clippers on Friday and has helped Denver stabilize things.

The Kings will probably play Keon Ellis 25+ minutes. He’s a solid defensive wing but not dynamic. Jae Crowder, Alex Len, Colby Jones, Doug McDermott, and maybe some other deeper reserves will get an opportunity, which likely means heavy minutes for the Kings starting five.

It’s really important for the Nuggets starters to win their minutes then. The Kings will be over-indexed if they lose the starter minutes at home. If the Nuggets can win those and simplify the role of the bench in this game, that would make a major difference.

Number of the Day – 1.4

That’s the Nuggets Net Rating in the 203 minutes Jamal Murray has played on the second unit without Nikola Jokic. A +1.4 Net Rating.

Some of Murray’s statistical indicators with and without Jokic this year have been very interesting. Last season, the Nuggets couldn’t function in the “Murray + Bench” minutes. This year, they’ve been better. Murray’s averaging a slightly worse True Shooting without Jokic overall because he hasn’t shot well from three, but he’s shot better from two-point range by a lot. He’s used DeAndre Jordan and Dario Saric screens pretty well, and he’s hunting mismatches better with the bench.

It’s still early, and I don’t expect the Murray ON Jokic OFF minutes to get much better than where they are now. Still though, that’s a positive encouragement on Denver’s other players as well. Westbrook, Strawther, Watson, and others have played a part in those lineups being more successful this time around.

Nugget who should have a good game: Russell Westbrook

I think Westbrook reaches 8 assists or more in this game. With the Kings bench struggling, the Nuggets have an opportunity to feast when Westbrook checks in and plays next to Jokic. The Nuggets MVP scored just 16 points on Friday. It wouldn’t surprise me if Westbrook takes that as a personal challenge for him to set up Jokic for some easy baskets.

In addition, I think Westbrook will be tasked with guarding De’Aaron Fox a bit. He was up to the challenge against Trae Young and James Harden. Let’s see what he can do against Fox.