All things considered, the Nuggets have to be absolutely thrilled with where the team stands exactly halfway into the season. They’ve played 41 games, seen four starters go down with long-term injuries, played seven more road games than home games, and yet they are still tied for second place in the Western Conference, with a 28-13 record.
They’re set to get everyone back healthy within the next few weeks, and now in the second half of the season, they’ll play 24 games at home and just 17 on the road. With Denver’s great homecourt advantage in Ball Arena, this should be excellent news as they try to secure the best possible seed for the playoffs.
A few weeks ago, this felt like an afterthought. Once Nikola Jokic suffered a knee injury, the goal was just to hold the fort and hopefully avoid the play-in tournament. Instead, everybody on the team has stepped up, and the team has actually kept climbing in the standings. They’re tied with the Spurs, and even the mighty Thunder are within shouting distance, just 6.5 games ahead with four head-to-head matchups still remaining.
Catching OKC may be a pipe dream, but even finishing in second or third and ensuring that a matchup with the defending champs can’t happen until the Western Conference Finals would be massive for their chances of making a title run.
Nuggets must improve play at Ball Arena
Now, just to be fair, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns going forward. Based on opponent winning percentage, the Nuggets have the most difficult remaining strength of schedule, including those four matchups with the Thunder, three with the Spurs and Lakers, and two against the East-leading Pistons.
Furthermore, despite the big gap in home vs. away games, the Nuggets have actually been surprisingly mediocre at home by their own lofty standards. They’ve been excellent on the road, going 17-7 thus far, but they’re a somewhat disappointing 11-6 at home, including some bizarre duds.
But with the way the team has been playing recently, there’s no reason to think that as guys make their returns to the lineup, and they get into a rhythm, that they won’t get comfortable in Ball Arena and start ripping off wins.
While seeding isn’t everything when it comes to the NBA playoffs, it’s very clearly a major deal. In the history of the NBA, only two teams seeded lower than 3rd have won the title. The last time it happened was in 1995, when the Rockets were a 6 seed, and the only other time was the Celtics in 1969 as a 4 seed.
In other words, getting a high seed is much more important than people think, and thanks to some outstanding recent play, especially by Jamal Murray and the Denver bench, the Nuggets are poised to secure a highly coveted top 3 seed.