The Denver Nuggets opened up the season with a promising win over the New Orleans Pelicans and then followed that up with two heartbreaking losses to the Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors. The team showed signs of it’s youth in both losses as they were unable to hold onto a late lead and ultimately succumbed to the veteran star power of Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Now mired in the midst of one of their longest road trips of the season, the Nuggets look to right the ship early and prove this team can stay in the playoff conversation throughout the season. Looking ahead to the month of November, Denver will face a tough schedule, but also will have some opportunities for easy wins.
| Nuggets record | Nov opponents record | Home games | Road games | Back to backs |
| 1-2 | 20-16 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
Tough Stretch
The Nuggets face the toughest stretch of the month right now with still four games remaining on their current five game road trip which features four playoff teams from last season and the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves. After dropping last night’s game to the Raptors, the Nuggets will look to make sure the trip is salvageable by picking up wins against the aforementioned Timberwolves on Thursday and the Detroit Pistons on Saturday. Denver could easily be 2-6 or even 1-7 when the road trip wraps up and they’ll find no immediate relief when they come home as the Golden State Warriors come to visit.
Home Sweet Home
There is a sliver of hope however, starting November 16th the Nuggets will have a four game home stand that features just one playoff team, the Raptors, who the Nuggets nearly beat in Toronto last night. However, the other three teams in the home stand (Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns) are all considered up and coming (or at least playoff quality in the case of the Bulls). The Suns should be the easiest matchup, they’ve come into the season ice cold and prized shooting guard Devin Booker was shooting an alarmingly low percentage from the field before being hampered by a toe injury.
Best Game
No doubt this one has to be the home game against the Warriors on November 10. When Golden State came to visit during the preseason what ensued was about as epic of a preseason game as there can be, ultimately ending with Warriors rookie Patrick McCaw out dueling Jamal Murray and nailing buzzer beaters at both the end of regulation and overtime. What most people didn’t know (because neither the Nuggets nor the Warriors felt the need to broadcast the game) is that while the starters were in the Nuggets held their own against the likes of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, outplayed them even. Now, a lot of that had to do with some cold shooting, particularly from Curry, but something to watch for when the teams meet on the tenth is Emmanuel Mudiay was able to get the best of Curry on the offensive end, consistently getting past him and into the lane where Golden State is severely lacking in rim protection. It could add up to a big night offensively for Kid Congo. All that being said, the Warriors are still really really good, as the Suns found out recently when the newest addition, Durant, went off on them.
Sneaky Interesting Game
The Nuggets will play the Bulls just twice this season, as they do with all Eastern Conference teams, and the first of that pair of matchups comes on November 22nd. The Bulls went through what one might call a "win-now rebuild" this offseason, shedding former cornerstones Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose and adding aging but effective talents Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade. Pundits across the NBA bemoaned these moves as confusing and not in line with the style of play coach Fred Hoiberg likes to use. Yet, despite all that negativity, the Bulls have opened the season with three straight wins and look like a cohesive and effective unit.. Rondo vs Mudiay, Harris vs Wade, Danilo Gallinari vs Jimmy Butler…the game will be packed with interesting one on one matchups.
Bargain Buy
If you’re thinking about heading down to the Pepsi Center to catch a game your best deal is going to be when the Jazz come to visit on November 20th. It’s a Sunday game but fear not, the Denver Broncos will be on a bye week. Currently $15 at SeatGeek.com will get you through the door and into the nose bleeds. Club level is going to run you into the $45 and up range and the first floor will cost you anywhere from $35 behind the basket or $650 to go baller style and sit courtside. A Sunday night game against a divisional rival and playoff contender for $15 makes for a great activity with extended family who are coming in for Thanksgiving.
