Denver Nuggets vs. Magic: What to watch for

After a big win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Denver Nuggets will look to keep up the intensity over the Orlando Magic.

The Denver Nuggets are once again having trouble remaining consistent this season.

After a hot 9-1 start to the regular season, they are now at 11-7 sitting at sixth place in the Western Conference. A far cry from where they were at the start of the year when they were in second place.

However, this stretch of games is a golden opportunity for Denver to turn things around.

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They handled their business against the Timberwolves as alluded to already, now they have to keep up the aggressiveness against the young Orlando Magic. While Orlando is a projected lottery team, they still have talent.

Terrence Ross is an athletic three and D guy who is averaging 13.1 points per game along with an effective field goal percentage of 52.7%. Not to mention, he has a defensive rebounding percentage of 12.3%. As a result, Juan Hernangomez will have to be ready to play one of his best defensive games yet as he continues to fill in for the injured Will Barton.

The main key for the Nuggets though, has to be winning the third quarter. They have done a good job starting off the game hot as of late, but seem to collapse in the second half.

For example, in the loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on November 19, the Nuggets were outscored 32-21. In the first half, the Nuggets were up by 10 by a score of 56-46. This goes to show a lack of adjustments and the team getting complacent when they need to be even more aggressive in the second half, let alone against a young and upcoming team like the Milwaukee Bucks.

In their last win, the Nuggets outscored the Timberwolves in the third quarter 35-18 after a sluggish first half. This is hardly a coincidence as the case in many sports is not necessarily how you start, but how you end. How one ends is a big indicator of a team or individual’s success and the Denver Nuggets have been a perfect example of this so far.

If the Nuggets can win the third quarter, then they should be just fine.