The Denver Nuggets will be looking to rebound tonight in another in a series of games that they should be expected to win.
The Nuggets (37-31) have fallen to the 10th spot in the West, following a loss to the Lakers in which they held a 13-point lead late in the third quarter. Although 14 games remain in the season and the Nuggets are still just three games out of the fourth seed, it feels like the loss to the Lakers and the (5-5) record the team has posted in the last 10 games spells doom for the Blue and Gold.
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The Pistons arrive in Denver on a slide of their own. Just 2-8 in their last 10 games, they are in the ninth spot in the East but a full five games out of the eighth seed. Mirroring the Nuggets road woes, the Pistons are a dismal 9-23 this season away from Little Caesar’s Arena (come on….).
The similarities continue with the Nuggets. Like Nikola Jokic, Andre Drummond, the Pistons center and possibly best player (getting old, Blake), was an All Star snub this season, despite good numbers.
Blake Griffin, a trade deadline arrival, leads Detroit in scoring at 21.6 points-per-game. The Nuggets are led by Gary Harris (17.8 ppg).
The Nuggets are 26-10 at Pepsi Center, this season, good for seventh in the NBA.
The Nuggets have to be a wreck coming into this game. A 5-5 record in their last 10 games isn’t great but it also shouldn’t be a death sentence. Let’s remember those 10 games included two each with the Cavaliers and the Rockets. A guaranteed four losses for many teams in this league. It’s absurd the streaks the teams ahead of the Nuggets have put together:
Portland is 10-0.
OKC is 7-3.
New Orleans is 8-2 and they lost Boogie for the season.
The Clippers are 7-3.
Utah is 8-2.
Only the Nuggets, San Antonio and Minnesota (who lost Jimmy Butler) are .500 or worse and even then, all three are 5-5.
The Nuggets have been frustratingly inconsistent this season but the closing run to the playoffs is unlike many that have been seen. Two games swing the Nuggets way and suddenly they are fourth in the West. Two games the other way and its unlikely they can recover.
Next: Nuggets: Epitome of Murphy's Law
From that standpoint they can little afford to play soft against teams like the Pistons. This is the time for them to establish their desire to be a playoff team