Denver Nuggets Must Bear Down to Win Against Memphis

Coming off of a bad loss, the Denver Nuggets must seek to draw from the momentum of the seven straight wins before that to avoid falling into a trap.

The Nuggets were on a tear. Offensively, the Nuggets had hit a groove against a series of bad teams.

On the national stage against New Orleans, they collapsed on both ends of the floor. Against Memphis, the Nuggets will look to regain the flow that they had at times. What specifically could make a difference?

Let’s take a look:

Rebounding:

The last game was a weak showing in terms of rebounding. The Nuggets came down with 40 boards, losing that battle to the Pelicans with 52, including 14 offensive rebounds. Jerami Grant at the power forward position, playing 29 minutes only came down with two rebounds.

The Nuggets also lost the rebounding battle against Memphis last time, despite a sizable win. Mason Plumlee led the team with seven, and Nikola Jokic only finished with five. With a more aggressive Jokic at this point in the season, I don’t expect that to be the case this time around. Millsap and Grant need to step up in this aspect from their recent performances.

Paul Millsap will be a game time decision (per Harrison Wind), and this means that Grant will have to step up. Matching up against Jaren Jackson Jr. will benefit whoever starts, as his defensive rebounding numbers this year are a little lackluster.

Nikola Jokic:

As always, as Jokic goes, so do the Nuggets. It’s no coincidence that their best offensive stretch of the year aligned with Jokic’s resurgence.

In the first matchup with Memphis, Jokic put up a meager line of 9/5/8. This was amidst a self-admitted slump for Nikola. With Jokic having found his rhythm recently, mostly in the mental sense, the offense can perform even better in this contest.

Something to note was the 39 points that Jamal Murray scored in the first game between these teams. With a revitalized Jokic, a performance like that from Jamal shouldn’t be necessary.

Michael Porter Jr:

Michael Porter Jr. has had an odd homestretch. A most common story for him is when the starters come out hot and take an early lead, afterwards, Porter comes in to grab some first quarter action. Him, as well as the rest of the bench unit take a step backwards defensively, and it costs them a chunk of the lead. This outcome usually results in Porter’s return to the bench for the rest of the game.

With Michael Malone’s contract extension, Coach may feel more at ease about risking games to gain Porter some experience. Between the need for rebounding (see above), and a bench shot-creator, Michael Porter Jr’s opportunity for more important rotation minutes could begin as soon as this game. As usual with him, it’s a higher-risk, higher-reward scenario.

Overall:

The Nuggets can’t let this be a trap game. It doesn’t seem like they will, coming off of Wednesday’s loss. If they can end this favorable 10 game stretch with a 9-1 record, it’ll be a successful one. If they take care of rebounds, and Jokic plays at his peak, they should win favorably, which means enough to find Michael Porter Jr. some significant minutes.