Ater the Nuggets had a nine-game winning streak snapped by the Lakers Saturday night, Nikola Jokic suggested that the extended success may have been a mirage, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Many of those victories came during a soft part of the schedule, and the opposition is about to get much tougher with a four-game trip to Indiana, Milwaukee, Detroit and Boston.
“We had the nine-game winning streak against teams that were injured, and teams that were not really good or high in the standings,” Jokic said. “So maybe we tricked ourselves into (thinking) that we are playing good.”
Regardless of the circumstances, the Nuggets were able to briefly rise into second place in the West, although Saturday’s loss pushed them back down to third. To stay in that range, they’ll have to improve their performance against high-level opponents, as Durando notes that they’re just 10-14 against teams that currently have winning records.
“No one’s going to be scared that the Denver Nuggets are coming to town,” coach Michael Malone said. “So we have to play a lot better than we did tonight. We got away with it against Charlotte (on Thursday), but against the quality of opponent that we played (in the Lakers) … we have to understand that we can not just rely on our offense. We averaged 128 points per game on our nine-game win streak. And tonight, we had 100. So when we’re not scoring, when we’re not making shots, what are we going to do?”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Keyonte George‘s 30-point night in Saturday’s win over Houston shows that the Jazz guard may be more effective coming off the bench, observes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. George is naturally a volume shooter, and he gets more opportunities when he’s not on the court with all the other starters. “It’s time to make my presence felt, to understand who I am as a player,” George said. “I know the amount of work that I put in, physically, mentally. I just think, you know, it’s time. It’s time now.”
- The Trail Blazers set a franchise record for largest margin of victory in Saturday’s 141-88 win over Charlotte, per Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (subscription required). Portland out-shot the Hornets 20-5 from three-point range and scored 27 fast-break points in the first half, which is the highest mark in the league this season. “We’ve definitely been on the other side of that too many times as a group,” coach Chauncey Billups said. “It feels good to be on this side of it.”
- The only downside for the Trail Blazers was the absence of Robert Williams, who was held out of the game due to swelling in his left knee, Highkin tweets. Billups isn’t sure if it’s a long-term concern and said the medical staff will be cautious.
i didn’t watch the game last night so how did the Lakers keep Jokic from getting the ball? He only took 7 shots?
They double and triple teamed him and the refs allowed lots of hacking by the Lakers without a whistle for much of the game. They also ignored the defensive 3 seconds rule with Hayes literally camped in the lane for 7 seconds which eventually resulted in a shot clock violation/turnover.
But the Nuggets’ 12-14 record vs .500 or better teams is a legit concern.
Lakers always get the home town calls. The NBA allows the holding and hacking by the lakers. AD used to get away with the pushes in the back on rebounds.
How is Jaxson Hayes even allowed to play basketball right now? Domestic violence literally on video and he’s still around.
The Nuggets don’t shoot a lot of 3s and the Lakers gave space on the perimeter and focused on disrupting passing lanes inside. They also double and triple teamed Jokic and dared Westbrook, Gordon, Braun to make a play. Jaxson Hayes was in the paint all night and I have no idea how he wasn’t getting 3 second calls.
MPJ probably had his worst game of the year. The Nuggets spacing is horrendous when MPJ isn’t a factor offensively. Missed wide open jumpers, missed a dunk, and he didn’t look comfortable with the ball.
A big problem for the Nuggets in this matchup was Murray on Doncic. Murray is ordinarily a solid defender but he struggled with Doncic’s size.
The Nuggets are a great team. They just need to keep developing their bench.
Sounds like a lot of excuses and negativity. Sometimes the better team just wins the game.
What did the Nuggets do that was positive?
Happy for the Jazz guard Keyonte’s recent successes. Although, he’s had plenty of great games already in the starting lineup. It just takes more pressure off of him to come off the bench.
Plus, Collier is more of a natural point guard than Key. Works better for the team going forward doing this.
Of course, that all could change this off-season with the draft and possible trades. Hopefully, he won’t get in his own way going forward. So far, signs are pointing to him being a good to great player.