On a four-game winning streak and just getting back to full health, the Denver Nuggets host the Utah Jazz who are doing neither of those things. Denver is on its third game in four nights after a pair of wild shootout wins that may not leave them with a lot in the tank. The Jazz front office needs this team to lose games for lottery positioning, while the players on the court don’t care about any of that – but also are missing a ton of firepower with several rotation members out including star Lauri Markkanen and rookie big man Kyle Filipowski. In fact, with Jusuf Nurkic and Jaren Jackson Jr. also out, the Jazz are going to be short in stature as well as short-handed. The Nuggets offense has been putting on a show recently, paced by some outrageous performances by stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Smaller lineups have hurt Denver this year, however, and the Jazz will push the pace (4th in the NBA in pace this year) while also being completely unafraid of Denver’s altitude. The Jazz don’t stop anybody on defense, as they have the worst defensive rating in the league, and they’ve lost 7 of 8. Denver only beat them by three back at the start of March though, so if Denver lets it be a track meet then Utah has shown before they can keep pace. It’s up to the Nuggets to set the tone and style of this game and lock down another victory as they try to fight their way up the home court rankings for the playoffs. All these games matter, and overlooking the Jazz would be a mistake that could haunt them.
The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets (46-28) vs Utah Jazz (21-52)
When: 7:00 PM MST
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
How to watch/listen: Altitude TV / League Pass
Rival Blog: SLC Dunk
Injury Report | Nuggets: None listed
Utah Jazz: Kyle Filipowski—day-to-day (illness); Isaiah Collier—out (hamstring); Keyonte George—out (hamstring); Jaren Jackson Jr.—out (knee); Walker Kessler—out (shoulder); Lauri Markkanen—out (hip); Jusuf Nurkic—out (nose)
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Can Denver start the right way? The Nuggets were struggling with slow starts, then began starting faster but letting teams keep pace with them (or lead) for a half or more. Denver has to start working on their playoff execution, and part of that is not just getting comfortable with each other on offense, but on defense also. Christian Braun fouled out early against the Dallas Mavericks. Peyton Watson hasn’t been involved in a ton of defensive action since his return. Aaron Gordon has been physical but not a shut-down defender as he ramps back up from his multiple leg injuries.
Denver needs to be in their offensive flow from the jump against a beat up Utah team whose players are not trying to lose, but also are not deep enough to take a win off a high-performing Nuggets squad. But it’s on defense where they really need to be vocal and take steps forward. The Nuggets have put up 142, 125, 128 and 121 points during this four-game win streak. Scoring has not been a problem – so finding their defensive identity again has to take priority.
The thing to remember: Peyton Watson is back, baby. This will be one of the first games for Denver to really be able to lean into a potential playoff rotation. Aaron Gordon played Tuesday on the first night of a back-to-back, while Watson took that game off and played Wednesday with AG in street clothes. But where Denver can really shine is deploying both of them, along with Spencer Jones, Bruce Brown and Christian Braun in whatever configurations they choose.
Watson had a relatively easy 21 points in 23 minutes against the Mavericks, and doesn’t look like he’s suffering any after-effects of the long layoff for his hamstring injury. He looks quick, his shot looks good, and he’s running the floor well. The next step is deploying him in a more defensive capacity as well as figuring out how to get him touches with all of the playoff rotation now available. That’s coach David Adelman’s job, and he doesn’t have long to figure it out. With Watson as potentially Denver’s sixth man and Tim Hardaway Jr. as the bench’s scoring demon right after him, the Nuggets should finally get to embrace who the are – and who they can be. Watson is right in the thick of that on both sides of the ball.
The thing to bet: For me to lose my ever-loving mind if Denver plays with their food again – but also I would take the under on points in this game, Denver just likes to let lesser teams hang around too much.
