On Friday night, we knew it was going to be tough for the Nuggets to find enough offense without Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, and we finally saw some of the absences catch up with them at the worst possible time. They battled admirably for three quarters, but got destroyed in the fourth, ultimately losing to the Hawks, 110-87.
Murray sat out with a sore ankle and an illness, leaving the team severely shorthanded. But Denver actually held a one-point lead going into the final frame, after putting together a stifling defensive third quarter, but things completely spiraled, as they were outscored 36-12 over the final 12 minutes of the game.
The Nuggets completely lost their way on the offensive end as Atlanta ramped up the pressure and focus. Denver players were having a hard time penetrating and getting into the lane. Without Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas, they have no real interior threat, and without Murray, they don’t have many players to puncture the paint with their dribble.
Peyton Watson kept up his recent hot play, but almost everyone else struggled. Aaron Gordon looked ok as he keeps easing his way back, but Christian Braun looks like a shell of himself. Jalen Pickett came back to earth in this one, having a hard time getting anything going and getting relentlessly picked on at the other end.
Nuggets just need to survive next few weeks
All in all, the Nuggets have done about as well as one could expect to stay afloat without Jokic. They’ve gone 3-3 since his injury, with impressive wins at Boston and Philadelphia and a hard-fought loss in Cleveland. The game on Friday was an unfortunate ending, but without Jokic and Murray, that’s a tough ask.
Now, they stand at 25-13 on the season, third place in the Western Conference. They’re two games back of the Spurs for the two seed, but also just two games up on the Suns for the seven seed.
Things are very tight, and the whole conference seems pretty volatile after the Thunder (32-7). We expected the Nuggets to fall a bit without the Joker, but as long as they can stay in this jumbled group that includes the Spurs, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Lakers, Rockets, and Suns, they should be okay.
At worst, they would likely fall to the seven seed, which isn’t ideal, but if everyone is back and healthy by the All-Star break, that gives the team two months to make up some ground. The one or two seeds may be off the table, but as long as they can finish in the top six and avoid the play-in tournament, they should be fine.
Sure, home court advantage would be great, but this all comes down to being healthy and playing well when the playoffs start. If the Nuggets can accomplish that, they’ll be in as good a shape as anyone, regardless of the standings.