Three Keys For The Rest of The Nuggets’ Regular Season

As the NBA All-Star break concludes, the Denver Nuggets sit at second in the Western Conference with a 38-17 overall record. What do the Nuggets have to do to ensure a top spot in the conference for the playoffs?

With just 27 games remaining on the Denver Nuggets schedule, the team is currently on pace to match their franchise high 57-win mark from the 2012-13 NBA season.

That being said, Denver also has the ninth most difficult remaining schedule, and teams like the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers are only one or one and a half games back of the Nuggets.

The margin of error for the Nuggets is slim, in order to secure a top spot in the Western Conference, the Nuggets must adhere to these three rules.

Get Healthy

Maybe something is going on in Colorado, but the injury bug has devastated the Nuggets this year.

Only Nikola Jokic (but he is “out of shape”) and Monte Morris have played in all 55 games this season. Key rotation players like Jamal Murray, Mason Plumlee, Torrey Craig, Michael Porter Jr. and Paul Millsap have all missed 10 or more games already.

While the Nuggets have managed to rattle off impressive wins with a depleted roster, like their wins against Utah and Milwaukee to close out the month of January, progressive fatigue will eventually catch up to this team.

Jokic and Will Barton both rank within the top-50 of minutes per game, both whom log nearly 33 minutes a night, and both who have played at least 15 games this season where they surpassed the 35-minute mark.

Jokic logged the second-lowest minutes total in the 2020 All-Star game, and no other Nuggets player participated in this year’s All-Star weekend; this roster got some much-needed rest.

The Nuggets will have had nine days off before they hit the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder this Friday. With Plumlee, Barton and Porter Jr. listed on the injury report heading into the All-Star break, keeping those guys healthy will be necessary for a deep playoff run.

The depth added in the recent trade could prove to be crucial for team health during this stretch of the season. Jordan McRae, Keita Bates-Diop, and Noah Vonleh are capable of  effectively eating up minutes otherwise played by the Denver Nuggets playoff rotation.

Get Gary Harris Going

There was a time where it looked like Gary Harris was going to become an All-Star, (He even drew ambitious Kawhi Leonard comparisons). During the 2017-18 campaign, his age-23 season, Harris averaged 17.5 points, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals in 34 minutes a night while shooting 49% from the field and 40% from three.

Harris had increased his points per game average every season up until that point, and it looked like he was on the verge of stardom. This season, Harris has missed 9 games and his points per game average has dropped to the lowest since his rookie season.

It got to the point where the longest tenured Nugget was made available in trade talks around this year’s trade deadline. With Malik Beasley gone, it is time for Harris to put up or shut up.

This season, Harris played and started in the Nuggets’ first 31 games, and he averaged 11.4 points while shooting 44% from the field and 34% from three. After sustaining an injury and not playing on the last day of 2019 against the Houston Rockets, the former Michigan State guard has averaged just 7.9 points per game while shooting 32% from the field and an abysmal 19% from three.

One could say his performance of late is injury-related, but this is not the first time Harris has found himself in this situation.

Just last season, Harris started in the first 21 games for the Denver Nuggets, and averaged 16.6 points per game while shooting 44% from the field and 32% from three. After missing 11 straight games due to injury, he averaged just 12.9 points per game while shooting 42% from the field and 34% from three the rest of the season.

Harris needs to get his confidence back by getting to his spots offensively. This season, Harris converts 66% of his shots at the rim, and nearly 70% of those shots have been assisted. Harris needs to move without the ball and cut behind his defenders for easy looks at the rim.

Another spot Harris is efficient at is going left, and shooting from anywhere between 12-22 feet. From that area, Harris is also shooting 66%. Seeing the ball go in the hoop should boost Harris’ confidence and his shooting marks from everywhere else on the floor.

If Harris cannot find his groove, the Nuggets have a budding star in Porter Jr. who will happily take his place in the Nuggets’ rotation, with Will Barton able to slide over to play shooting guard. Porter Jr. averaged 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and shot 51% from deep over his last ten games before injury.

Harris has to show head coach Mike Malone that he can trust him once the playoffs come around.

Don’t Drop the Easy Ones

Although the Nuggets have the ninth hardest remaining schedule, there are a few “trap games” left this season.

The first one? This coming Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Malik Beasley has averaged 22.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 42% from three since being traded from the Nuggets to the Timberwolves.

Minnesota also acquired D’Angelo Russell from the Golden State Warriors in a trade that involved Andrew Wiggins and picks.

Although the Wolves are second-to-last in the Western Conference, and own a 16-37 record, these are exactly the games the Nuggets cannot afford to lose. With such a tight race at the top of the Western Conference standings, the Nuggets cannot drop any game against a lesser opponent.

The Denver Nuggets need to win their games against the Cavaliers, Pistons, Hornets, Bulls, Warriors, Kings and nearly all of their remaining divisional games. There’s a decent possibility that they can sweep the division.

The Nuggets have the best record in the NBA against teams above .500, if they can continue that trend, and take care of their “gimme” games, the Nuggets should be near or at the top of the conference once the playoffs start.