The Nuggets have looked sluggish and flat, and they appear to need an extended rest. The All-Star break will provide eight days for everyone except Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who have been selected to play in the All-Star Game. Of course, they've also been playing with half a starting unit, or less, as Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson continue to miss games, while seemingly everyone else has also missed time at some point, too.
The Nuggets roll into New York on the heels of back-to-back losses to OKC and Detroit. Now they take on KAT and company in a showdown at the Garden, coming off two games in which they played terrible defense. On the other hand, the Knicks have won seven straight to overtake Boston for the two spot in the East. Both teams couldn't be further apart at the moment.
When the playoffs roll around in April, the Nuggets will be well prepared thanks to this brutal run of games in the middle of the season. Whoever wrote the schedule must have had a vendetta against Denver. Ok, so they had no way to know that the Nuggets would be going through both conferences' top-seeds plus the East's second seed. Back. To back. To back.
All quiet at the trade deadline...so far
The Nuggets have not been involved in the flurry of trades across the league this week. All has been relatively quiet, for now. However, another poor showing vs. the Knicks could force GM Ben Tenzer's hand into a move to shore up the defense. The problem is that the Nuggets have not been rumored to be pursuing anyone this week. Calm before the chaos, or is Denver already all-in with the current roster?
Fans have to be happy with how well the team has played, given the circumstances this season. They're well coached, too. David Adelman has experimented with every lineup combination you could imagine. Even Spencer Jones has started 33 games! He certainly knows what the Nuggets need and what they should do at the deadline, which is Thursday, February 5th, at 1 p.m. Mountain time.
First, let's get past the Knicks. Jalen Brunson and crew are red-hot. We need to see Denver get off to a fast start for once. It's truly been an Achilles’ heel, and playing catch-up has been wearing the team down. Once the final whistle blows, all eyes are on the news feed until the deadline passes.