The Denver Nuggets got back to their winning ways snapping a four game skid by routing the Atlanta Hawks. To turn that into a winning streak, they’ll have to beat the New Orleans Pelicans. This time with Anthony Davis in the lineup.
The Denver Nuggets beat the Pelicans 116-111 back on October 29 with Davis out of the lineup. One might surmise that the Nuggets will need a better effort to beat them with their star player. Luckily for the Nuggets, they had everything working against the Hawks on Thursday night.
Scoring 138 points while limiting Atlanta to 93. They Need to carry that momentum into New Orleans and beat a conference foe.
Virtually everyone on the team shot well against Atlanta with Juancho Hernangomez leading all scorers with 25 points.
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The Nuggets will need some of that hot shooting to carry over, but more importantly, I think the Nuggets have to refuse to be bullied out of the paint by Anthony Davis. Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap will have to do their best to play their game despite Davis’ presence.
The Nuggets may well win a shootout on any given night with scorers like Jamal Murray, and Gary Harris amongst others, but the recipe for continued success involves cutters and running on teams in my opinion.
To shoot anywhere near the 56% the Nuggets put up against the Hawks the Nuggets have to get lay ups and dunks. If they can show that they’ll drive, cut and play in the post, then those perimeter shots will open up.
The offense looked great against the Hawks and I’d love to see more of that. The Nuggets have at times looked stagnant with 3 or 4 players standing around the perimeter and it’s cost them games with scoreless stretches. Let’s hope those stretches are a thing of the past and the Nuggets can remain near the top of the Western Conference.