Nuggets Trying To Avoid First 50-Loss Season Since 2003 Against Dallas

By Chris Kirby | Apr 10, 2015

The Denver Nuggets have had a memorable season, but for all of the wrong reasons. If they lose one more game (there are four games remaining), they will have their first 50-loss campaign since 2002-03, when they finished 17-65. That team was led by notable names such as Juwan Howard, James Posey, Nene and Marcus Camby — not exactly a murderers’ row. This current Nuggets team has a little more talent, but that doesn’t mean much at this point. No matter how you chop it up, this team has been extremely disappointing and they will go down as one of the worst Denver teams of all-time. The good news is that the Nuggets drafted Carmelo Anthony two months after their 2003 season ended. If they can land a player of that caliber through the 2015 draft, all of this losing will be forgotten.

Tonight, the Nuggets (29-49) will meet up with the Dallas Mavericks (47-31) at the Pepsi Center. The Mavs have had a bit of rough patch lately, winning only three of their past nine games, but the Nuggets have the same record over that span. Dallas has a chance to win 50 games for the first time since their Championship season in 2011. They will have to win three of their last four games, but three of their remaining opponents have a losing record. They have already clinched the seventh seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, and they will meet up with either the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trailblazers or Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.

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Dallas has had some defensive woes lately, giving up 114.0 points per-game to their opponents over their past five games. Defending the three-point shot has been a weakness during this recent stretch — they have allowed opposing teams to shoot 40.7-percent from downtown. On the other side of the coin, the Nuggets have averaged 100.4 points per-game, while shooting 32.5-percent from distance.

The Nuggets have struggled to find consistency with their long-range shots until they made 13 of 33 attempts against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The Nuggets ended up winning that game 119-101, behind a monster double-double from Kenneth Faried (29 points and 11 rebounds). Danilo Gallinari was also playing on another level and he finished with 27 points and seven made three-pointers.

Chandler Parsons will miss his third straight game with a swollen knee, but luckily for Dallas fans, he wasn’t needed when they beat the Phoenix Suns 107-104 on Wednesday night. Dirk Nowitzki hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining the game, and he finished the night with 19 points. Tyson Chandler also had a monster night on the backboards — he pulled down 23 rebounds.

These two teams have met twice this season, splitting a home-and-home series in mid-January. Denver won the first game at home 114-107, thanks to Ty Lawson‘s 29 points and 12 assists. Two nights later in Dallas, the Mavericks exacted some revenge, beating Denver 97-89. Dallas has had some trouble playing at altitude over the past couple of years — Denver has won four straight home games in this series.

Considering that neither team has much to play for tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if either coach pulled his starters early in the game. This would be a nice opportunity to give your young fellas some extra run. Denver could always play for a higher lottery pick and try to tank the game, but if Dallas throws out their second unit for an extended period, it may make that task a little tougher to accomplish.

Come back to Nugg Love for your game recap, as well as the best Denver Nuggets-related content on the worldwide web.

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