The Denver Nuggets are coming off a blowout win over the Orlando Magic.
Now, the Denver Nuggets will travel to Oklahoma City to battle the division rival Thunder. The Nuggets are currently sitting at a win loss record of 12-7 whereas the Thunder are at a record of 12-6.
Two teams right in the thick of things in the extremely congested Western Conference as of right now. The Thunder started the season off rocky. They started off losing their first four games of the regular season, but have turned things around since then.
The Denver Nuggets have gone the opposite way. They started the year out going 9-1, but are now 12-7 as alluded to already.
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Not to mention, this will be the back end of a back to back for the Nuggets who came out victorious the previous night. So, what exactly is the key for the Nuggets in this game? The main key for the team has to be maintaining the aggressiveness at the defensive end of the floor.
Remember, two out of the three stars still remain from last season in Paul George and Russell Westbrook with Carmelo Anthony no longer in the picture. The Thunder are going to be looking to avenge a key game from last season when Gary Harris hit the game winning three point shot which most of us still remember fondly.
With Denver’s new and improved defense averaging a defensive rating of 104.4 which is good for fifth in the league so far, they are capable of containing at least one of the stars. It may take some help defense, but the Nuggets should focus much of their defensive effort on Paul George.
If they can take George out of the picture, then life will be difficult for Russell Westbrook as a facilitator.
Remember, Denver’s defense is averaging 8.7 steals per game (fifth best in the league), so containing certain stars on the defensive end is no longer a pipe dream like it has been in recent seasons.