On their way to their best season in years, the Denver Nuggets have definitely had some highs — and some lows.
The Denver Nuggets are in a stretch of games that all bare importance to their seeding in the Western Conference Playoffs.
So what makes the Nuggets so good and unfortunately so bad.
For the most part, Nikola Jokic has had all star caliber performances game in and game out and Jamal Murray has provided his scoring even if it’s streaky.
Paul Milsap has been a steady presence of late even if his shooting has been hot and cold. Gary Harris has contributed all season long even if his scoring is down over the last ten games. Those four have been fairly consistent this season.
The Good Nuggets have then gotten a scoring spark from any combination of Malik Beasley, Will Barton, Monte Morris and occasionally Torrey Craig and the other rotation players.
Mason Plumlee is perhaps the NBA’s best backup center, but not often counted on for scoring punch. For most of the season a hot hand or hands has stepped up and provided the additional punch the Nuggets need to win. but sometimes…
The Bad Nuggets feature that same supporting cast (Barton + bench) that shot 8 of 38 or 21 percent against Houston, and a slightly better yet sub par 31 percent against Indiana.
Some of this can be attributed to life in the NBA — sometimes shots are falling and sometimes they’re not. But some of it comes down to not getting the right shots and settling for jumpers while going long stretches without getting into the paint.
The Denver Nuggets have exceeded most expectations, but that only leaves fans hungry for more and to take on the best in the West I believe the Nuggets will have to find other ways to score when the jumpers aren’t falling instead of trying to shoot their way out of a slump.
The Good Nuggets play tough D, cut without the ball, and score in transition. The other team has defensive breakdowns, stands and watches, and gets sloppy in transition. So let’s root for the Good Guys and ride this thing into the playoffs.