The Denver Nuggets moved to 7-1 on the new season with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road.
The Denver Nuggets are off to a red-hot start, as they have won seven of their first eight games, only losing once to the Los Angeles Lakers on the road.
With this game closing a road trip early on in the season, the guys have set themselves up pretty well right now, winning several impressive games so far.
However, what did we learn from the squad in this game, and what will they take from the win?
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1. The Denver Nuggets are a second-half team.
Throughout the start of the season, the Nuggets have struggled to find their footing early in a game. Why don’t we go back to the game where they took out the Warriors at home, where they struggled to get things going early, only to play good enough defense to scrape together a big win in the second half?
This game was no different, in fact, the Cavaliers actually took a 12 point lead going into the second quarter, and held the Nuggets to 15 points in the opening frame. Denver responded with 35 points in the second quarter and an eight point lead.
They’ve been a very resilient bunch so far this year, going the distance in an overtime win on the road against Chicago, narrowly taking out the Warriors at home, and breaking open the second half against the Cavs. This is a great asset to have for future games down the line, because they’re getting experience and excelling in crunch time.
2. The small-forward position will be fine without Will Barton…for now.
Juancho Hernangomez, Torrey Craig, and Malik Beasley have been playing a majority of the small-forward minutes so far, and they’ve been pretty good overall. What’s great about them is that each of them bring a unique piece to the line-up.
Craig is an underrated defender who has taken on roles such as guarding Kevin Durant, and done pretty well. Juancho is a lethal shooter from deep, creating separation on the wing to splash for three. Malik is an energy guy, whose heart and hustle translates to both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
When he gets back, Will Barton will be the starting small-forward, most likely. However, the reserves for the position have been good so far, with Juancho getting 23 points off of the bench, Torrey going 3-5 from the field and Malik throwing down a monster slam in the 4th quarter in the game (per ESPN).
The three is going to be an important position for the Nuggets to keep this hot streak going, and it will be up to these guys to keep stepping up for the challenge.