Denver Nuggets: Key dates in the 2021-22 schedule

The Denver Nuggets have released their 2021-22 schedule which will kick off on 20 Oct. 2021 against the familiar foe, the Phoenix Suns.

The most important takeaway from the schedule being released is the lack of a Christmas Day game for the reigning Most Valuable Player, Nikola Jokic.

As my Nugg Love colleague pointed out last week, Jokic can’t get no respect. Not only does Jokic and the Denver Nuggets miss out on Christmas, the team only has 25 nationally televised games, the 12th most in the league and behind teams like the Utah Jazz, LA Clippers, Phoenix Suns, and more.

But let’s move past the small market hand wringing/get off my lawn-isms.

An issue for the past few Michael Malone teams has been slow starts. The first season Denver didn’t get off to a slow start was in 2018-19 and Denver went on to win 54 games, securing the second seed in a stacked Western Conference.

Starts haven’t been that much of an issue for the Nuggets since rising to the West’s elite, but without Jamal Murray, the team could start off differently.

This upcoming season, Malone and the Nuggets will be trying to fill the void Jamal Murray leaves with his injury. It’ll be much easier with ten of the team’s first 16 games coming at Ball Arena, a home court the Nuggets are elite at defending.

This past season, the Nuggets went 25-11 at home and averaged a juicy 110.6 points per night at home and shot better across the floor.

On the other side of the coin, this bevy of early home games is countered with 13 of Denver’s final 20 being on the road and the season finale at home against the LA Lakers on 10 Apr. 2022. That final matchup could be crucial for seeding purposes or it could be a glorious rest fest for the elderly Lakers.

If the Nuggets are in any kind of battle for seeding late in the season, the month of April is ripe with matchups. Denver plays five games in the month against the following: vs Minnesota Timberwolves, at LA Lakers, vs San Antonio Spurs, vs Memphis Grizzlies, and then vs the Lakers.

With the rumors that Minnesota is heavily in on a Ben Simmons trade, plus, you can never really count out Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, it could be a tough end to the season.

Denver Nuggets schedule release: Big games to watch

The first fun machup to watch will be the fifth game in the Denver Nuggets’ season, a nationally televised game against the Dallas Mavericks. Both these teams will be aiming to finish high in the Western Conference and we could even be seeing a preview to a playoff series.

What’s better is it’s a battle between the two European sensations in Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. The pair should be in the MVP conversation again this season and we’ll also get to see Nikola bully Kristaps Porzingis in the post, as he always seems to do.

The second key matchup, or matchups, will be two games in three nights home and away against the Golden State Warriors to finish the month of December. By then, Klay Thompson should have returned from his knee injuries and we’ll be watching a full-strength Warriors team face these Nuggets.

The first storyline here is MVP Nikola Jokic going against MVP finalist Stephen Curry. Secondly, this Warriors team has traditionally struggled against talented big men and Jokic is no exception.

Draymond Green is one of the smartest defender’s in the entire league (if not THE smartest defender) and it’s always fun to see if Jokic’s brilliance can overcome the defense. Plus, James Wiseman might be back by December too after meniscus surgery which should lead to some Nikola highlights.

The final big matchup to watch out for is a 2 Feb. 2022 game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

This nationally televised game should factor into seeding as the Nuggets should be gunning for a top-four seed while the Jazz aim for the number one seed again.

Alongside this, there’s always the Nikola vs Rudy Gobert discussion that the Serbian has owned since rising to the elite level we know today.