After a late-game comeback secured by some stellar play from Denver’s available stars Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon as well as a season-high for bench flamethrower Tim Hardaway Jr. the Nuggets are hoping to win their second game in as many days as they host the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are suffering even in the East with just 15 wins on the season, and they too played last night in Golden State, losing in a blowout. They are 4-6 in their last 10 though, and did defeat the Lakers and Jazz already on this Western Conference road trip. This is the last stop. LaMelo Ball has had a good road trip with a 30-point triple-double already to help get that win against the Lakers, and slowing him down is going to be a key for a Nuggets team that can’t just rely on outscoring everyone these days with their available players.
Charlotte wants to finish strong and have a winning trip when they go home, while Denver wants to lock down another win against the Eastern Conference without Nikola Jokic, Cam Johnson, Christian Braun and Jonas Valanciunas. Can the road-weary Hornets manage another win or will the remnants of the Nuggets secure another victory to keep their place in the Western Conference standings? Expect a messy game as we find out.
The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets (29-13) vs Charlotte Hornets (15-27)
When: 6:00 PM MST
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
How to watch/listen: Altitude TV / League Pass
Rival Blog: At The Hive
Injury Report | Nuggets: Tamar Bates—out (foot); Christian Braun—out (ankle); Cameron Johnson—out (knee); Nikola Jokic—out (knee); Jonas Valanciunas—out (calf)
Charlotte Hornets: Moussa Diabate—questionable (hamstring); Mason Plumlee—out (groin)
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Who suits up for the Nuggets? After the game last night, coach David Adelman said that he played Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray more than he would like. Does that mean minutes restrictions today, or potentially resting both starters on the second half of a back-to-back? I would expect Denver to rely on its deeper bench a bit more in this one, especially at forward where they have DaRon Holmes who can soak minutes to give AG a lesser burden or even a night off. It’s a long season and Aaron is still working his way back to 100% effectiveness. Denver used him much as they would Nikola Jokic last night as a focal point of the offense and a way to initiate offense from the elbow as well as fight inside on the block. That’s tough work off an injury for a power forward – between that and Jamal’s burden as an initiator and scorer, both guys could use a break so I would not be surprised. Just expect a weird rotation and for the Nuggets to keep bringing that scrappy nature amid some ugly basketball as they try to scratch out another win.
The thing to remember: Today is gravy – but Denver fights hard on these SEGABABAs. Last night’s win was a really good get, but that doesn’t mean the Nuggets are giving up on this one. The second game of a back-to-back is normally a difficult ask, but Denver has been exceedingly good in these situations the last three years. going 9-4, 12-4 and so far 5-2 this year. It’s in the DNA of this squad to fight hard when tired. Roleplayers play better at home, and Denver is hosting this one. I hope the crowd is juiced and the the players can feed off that energy, because beating the Wizards took a comeback and a lot of late fight. But even as battered as they are, this is the kind of game they normally get up for. They just have to do it one more time.
The thing to bet: Nuggets win. It’s just what they do now, apparently – win games that have them in very poor positions. Might as well bet it.
