The Denver Nuggets get a sense of deja vu as they host the New Orleans Pelicans for the second game in a row. On Monday night Denver defeated New Orleans 125-113. Both teams have injury woes but it’s hard to stack anything up to what the Pelicans are going through. That said, Zion Williamson and C.J. McCollum are out there and Trey Murphy III was an absolute force against Denver on Monday, scoring 41. The Pelicans are looking for redemption in a long season, while the Nuggets need another win to keep pace in the West as both teams head toward the All-Star break next week. Can Jokic put up another triple-double to carry Denver to the win? Can the Nuggets shoot or stop New Orleans from getting easy shots again? Winning both games of a two-game set is tough, because what worked the first time rarely works the second – but in Jokic we trust.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (31-19) vs New Orleans Pelicans (12-38)
When: 7PM MST
Where: The Can. Denver, CO.
How to watch/listen: Altitude with and without the + AND NOW ON COMCAST FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HALF A DECADE, NBA League Pass for those not in the Nuggets market, Altitude Radio 82.5FM.
Rival blog: The Bird Writes
The Matchup
| Position | Nuggets | Pelicans | Advantage |
| PG | Jamal Murray | Jose Alvarado | Nuggets |
| SG | Christian Braun | CJ McCollum | Even |
| SF | Michael Porter Jr. | Trey Murphy III | Even |
| PF | Aaron Gordon | Zion Williamson | Pelicans |
| C | Nikola Jokic | Yves Missi | Nuggets |
| Bench | Julian Strawther, DeAndre Jordan, Jalen Pickett, Zeke Nnaji | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Karlo Matkovic, Brandon Boston, Jordan Hawkins, Javonte Green | Even |
Injury report: Aaron Gordon – questionable (calf injury management), Peyton Watson – out (knee), Vlatko Cancar – out (knee rehab), DaRon Holmes II – out (achilles), Russell Westbrook – out (hamstring); Jordan Hawkins – questionable (illness), Daniel Theis – questionable (thumb), Brandon Ingram – out (ankle), Herbert Jones – out (ankle), Dejounte Murray – out (achilles), Keion Brooks Jr – out (G-League).
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Zeke Nnaji ascendancy
Zeke Nnaji got the Peyton Watson minutes two games ago and had 5 blocks. He got the Aaron Gordon minutes on Monday – as well as the start – and held Zion Williamson to 14 points on 13 shots while winning his second DPOG chain in a row. Nnaji is playing with his hair on fire, and for the Nuggets that’s a very good thing. Rebounding is still hit or miss, but the effort is there on his defensive rotation and transition attempts. When he’s making mistakes he’s doing it at full speed and recovering in the same fashion. Effort and commitment are incredibly powerful things when turning a lackluster season around, and as MPJ pointed out after the game Zeke’s commitment to giving that effort has never been higher and these past two games have shown the work he’s putting in.
Now it’s a matter of consistency. The Pelicans have seen him now. They’ve experienced Denver’s plan to slow down Zion Williamson. Aaron Gordon may be back to try to continue that plan or he may not, but regardless Zeke is going to get another shot to guard the talented forward. Can he do it again? Because doing something once gets you a second chance. Doing something over and over is how a much-maligned big on his second contract can get a chance to do what he is paid to do and loves doing: play the game of basketball every night.
The thing to remember: Threes still count for more than twos
The Nuggets gave up 18 three-pointers to Pelicans while only making 12, and those three pointers were the only thing keeping New Orleans in the game. Trey Murphy III was unstoppable from deep and had 41 points on just 13 made field goals. MPJ had 36 on 12 made field goals to keep pace as both men got up a dozen deep attempts each, and one of Denver’s very few volume deep threats it’s incumbent on Mike to keep shooting and stay active – just like it’s incumbent on Denver’s defense to limit these momentum-swinging deep shots from the Pelicans. Last year, Denver allowed the second-fewest three-point attempts and makes, and while some of that was pace related (the Nuggets played much slower last year so there were fewer possessions) they also were 8th-best in opponent three-point percentage at 35.5%. This year they are allowing nearly three more makes from behind the arc every game, dropping them to 24th in that category, and are 18th in opponent three-point percentage. They simply are not forcing the opposition to put the ball on the floor and need to find a way to challenge this rain of easy deep attempts – Zeke can’t block them all.
The thing to bet: Nikola Jokic triple-double
He’s had 11 in his last 14 games against the Pelicans I believe, and there was nothing New Orleans showed on Monday that convinces me they can switch that back in their favor. Bet the Jokic ascendancy, it’s usually safe money.
