Photo Courtesy: Michael Kolch
Denver Nuggets Overall Record: 9-14
The Denver Nuggets played two games last week going 1-1 and now have an overall record of 9-14. The team is on the cusp of gaining ground in the Western Conference. The key difference between last year’s team and this year’s squad is subbing players at the right time. You would think that coaches wouldn’t be the type of guys that will stick to a bad plan, but in Denver that’s what happening. The team is undersized to begin with and matching up is a problem with bigger teams. Let’s take a look at the two games the Nuggets played last week.
December 8 – Magic 85 – Nuggets 74 – Loss
Will Barton tried to keep the Nuggets close in the final quarter. He played 38 minutes scoring 23 points with four rebounds while down the Magic point guard on defense. It seemed like he and Kenneth Faried were the only two Nuggets that came to play. Danilo Gallinari played 38 minutes but struggled because of foul trouble. Gallinari scored 13 points and added six rebounds. I see the Nuggets playing hard for three quarters but run out of gas late in games.
December 11 – Nuggets 111 – Timberwolves 108 – Win
I, along with anyone who follows the Nuggets pretty much thought since losing to the Magic on Tuesday night that the Nuggets would lose this one easily. But, you have to play the game in order to know the winner and loser. The difference in this contest was Jameer Nelson. Jameer Nelson’s 20 points and 7 assists was the difference in the game. Six nuggets played 25 or more minutes against the Timberwolves and eight players scored quality points to get the win. I was surprised to see Nelson playing heavy minutes while rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay played only 12 minutes with 2 points. It was good to see how the guys fought hard the entire game to get a quality win.
Upcoming Schedule – All Times Central
12/14 vs. Rockets 8:00 pm
12/15 @Timberwolves 7:00 pm
12/18 @Jazz 8:00 pm
12/20 vs. Pelicans 7:00 pm
