- The Nuggets, looking to stay alive in the playoff hunt, have a big game on tap Friday night against Oklahoma City, but Gary Harris will be unable to return from his knee injury to play in that game, as Gina Mizell of The Denver Post writes.
- With the G League’s regular season over, players on two-way contracts are no longer limited to 45 days of NBA service time. That’s good news for Nuggets two-way player Torrey Craig, who is free to travel with and play for the NBA squad, and hopes to make a strong impression down the stretch, per Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. “Just show them that I can be a consistent, impactful player on both ends of the court and just try to fit in wherever I can and play a role,” Craig said of his goals for the rest of the season.
- The Nuggets had been hoping to get injured guard Gary Harris back on Friday, but he’s now doubtful for that game, and is aiming for a Sunday return, per head coach Mike Malone (Twitter link via Harrison Wind of BSNDenver.com).
Will Barton has steadily improved in each of his six NBA seasons and the 2017/18 campaign has been no different. The 27-year-old guard is averaging career-highs in PPG (15.0), APG (4.1), and MPG (32.6) for a Nuggets team that two games back of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Barton will hit unrestricted free agency for the first in his career this summer. That gives the University of Memphis product a choice on where he can continue his career. If all goes according to plan, however, Barton will not leave the Mile High City and will continue his career with the Nuggets.
In an interview with Christopher Dempsey of Altitude Sports, Barton addressed his future and his plans for free agency. The veteran admits that he has become comfortable in Denver since being traded from the Trail Blazers to the Nuggets in February 2015, and does not want to leave the team and the city behind. Here are those comments and more from Barton:
On wanting to remain in Denver:
“My ultimate goal is to return to Denver. You know me, I’m a real loyal guy. I’m real big on that. They gave me a chance to really showcase what I could do. So, I would love to finish what I started here.”
Why he is comfortable with the Nuggets:
“I like Denver. It’s given me a good place to focus on my career, where I can just focus on basketball a lot. It’s great people there. A lot of food places, and it’s growing. Just like me, the city is growing. When I first got here it wasn’t that many people. Now, people are moving to Denver, so it’s cool.”
Where Barton has made the most significant improvement:
“You guys have watched my game really grow and evolve. And my playmaking ability, being able to now play multiple positions, (point guard) through (small forward). Just making better reads – everything just evolved.”
What he wants to improve on:
“Just to be more consistent on the defensive end, staying locked in. Staying disciplined on that end. And just keep being aggressive, keep being myself, knowing that teams are kind of game-planning and knowing my game. So, just reading defenses and seeing what they are giving me and making plays off of that.”
The Nuggets have played reasonably well since the start of February, posting a 12-8 record in their last 20 contests. However, Denver’s spot in the Western Conference standings has slipped since then, as the team now finds itself in the No. 9 seed. While the Nuggets are still within three games of four Western playoff teams, they trail the eighth-place Jazz by two full games, and face an uphill battle for a postseason berth.
In addition to having to play catch-up, the Nuggets also have one of the most difficult remaining schedules in the NBA, per Tankathon.com. After facing the Bulls on Wednesday night, the Nuggets will have 10 more games on their schedule, including six on the road — that stretch includes nine games vs. playoff teams and one in L.A. vs. the Clippers, who are right on Denver’s heels for the No. 9 seed.
There are other Western contenders with difficult schedules going forward. The remaining slates for the Thunder, Spurs, Pelicans, Clippers, and Jazz also rank among the 10 toughest in the league, according to Tankathon. Still, while Denver’s playoff hopes remain alive for now, that could change quickly. With a stretch of road games in Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Oklahoma City on tap in the next nine days, the Nuggets’ shot at the postseason could be on life support by the end of the month. FiveThirtyEight’s playoffs odds already only give Denver a 12% chance to make it.
Although the Nuggets didn’t enter the season expected to be a title contender, they were a popular pick to make big strides after adding Paul Millsap in free agency. Denver hadn’t won more than 40 games or made the playoffs for four seasons, but this was the year that was expected to change. Instead, Millsap has appeared in just 27 games due to a wrist injury, and the Nuggets are on the verge of a fifth straight lottery appearance.
The Nuggets have posted a respectable 38-33 record so far, and if Millsap had stayed healthy, they may have added a few more wins to that total. But missing the playoffs would be a disappointing outcome, and could kickstart a discussion about the job security of Michael Malone, who is in his third year as Denver’s head coach.
A lottery appearance would also make for an even more interesting offseason for the Nuggets, who don’t have the cap flexibility to make another splash in free agency like they did with Millsap. If Wilson Chandler and Darrell Arthur pick up their player options for 2018/19, the Nuggets will have about $106MM in guaranteed money on their cap for next season, and that’s without considering a possible raise for Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets will have to either make Jokic a restricted free agent this summer and give him a long-term deal, or exercise his inexpensive team option, which would put him on track for unrestricted free agency in 2019 and would increase the risk of him leaving Denver. If Jokic gets a new contract this summer, the Nuggets may end up in tax territory without making any real changes to this year’s squad.
It’s not an ideal situation for the Nuggets, who will need a late-season run to salvage their playoff chances for this spring, and will face an offseason of tough decisions whether or not they make the postseason.
What do you think? Can the Nuggets still make the playoffs this year? Will Malone be back if they don’t? What moves could they make this offseason to improve their long-term outlook?
Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!
The Nuggets are targeting Monday’s game in Philadelphia or Tuesday’s game in Toronto as possible return dates for Gary Harris‘ return from a knee injury, tweets Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Harris, a key part of Denver’s lineup, has already been sidelined for the club’s last two games – both losses – and appears set to miss at least two more this week.
While the Nuggets would love to get Harris back for the start of next week, head coach Michael Malone said today that the 23-year-old hasn’t been able to do much running yet. Ally Sturm of Altitude TV adds (via Twitter) that Malone referred to a Monday or Tuesday return for Harris as a “best-case scenario,” which means he may end up missing those games too.
- An MRI conducted Friday on Nuggets‘ leading scorer Gary Harris showed he suffered a “sprain/strain” after landing awkwardly on his right leg, relays Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Coach Michael Malone said Saturday that Harris could miss three or four games, but the team hopes to have him back before the end of its seven-game road trip.
- Despite his lack of playing time this season, Nuggets big man Kenneth Faried appears to be staying positive, per Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Faried, who has been the subject of trade rumors for multiple seasons, will be entering the final year of his contract this offseason, so it will be interesting to see if he’s still on Denver’s roster six months from now.
- The Nuggets have struggled since offseason addition Paul Millsap made his return from an extended absence. Now the playoff hopeful club needs to figure out how to right the ship. “When a player of Paul Millsap’s magnitude misses 44 games and comes back with 22 games to go, that is a huge challenge,” head coach Michael Malone told Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. “Especially when the team was playing so well.“
Nikola Jokic‘s offensive production has dropped dramatically over the last three games, coinciding with the return of Paul Millsap from a wrist injury. Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters, including the Denver Post’s Gina Mizell, that his offense still revolves around his center. Jokic has averaged 12 PPG and while committing 12 turnovers over the last three games. “Nikola is still the focal point of our offense,” Malone said. “I don’t want Nikola thinking that he has to play second fiddle to anyone. … I want him to shoot the ball more and be more aggressive.”
- Millsap hasn’t played more than 27 minutes in his first three games back but Malone said his workload will increase very soon, Chris Dempsey of Nuggets.com tweets. Millsap scored 11 points in 26 minutes against the Cavaliers on Saturday.
While it remains to be seen whether the Rockets or Warriors will finish the season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, there’s no risk of either team falling below No. 2. Houston currently has a half-game lead on the second-place Warriors and a 12-game lead on the third-place Timberwolves.
After the top two teams in the West though, things get very interesting. As of today, there are seven Western teams separated by just two games in the loss column, with the 10th-seeded Jazz hanging around the race too. Here’s a current snapshot of the standings in the West:
- Minnesota Timberwolves (38-27)
- Portland Trail Blazers (36-26)
- San Antonio Spurs (36-26)
- New Orleans Pelicans (35-26)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (36-27)
- Denver Nuggets (33-28)
- Los Angeles Clippers (32-28)
- Utah Jazz (31-30)
Several of these teams have lost key players via injury or trade this season. The Timberwolves are currently without Jimmy Butler; Kawhi Leonard has barely played for the Spurs; DeMarcus Cousins is out for the season for the Pelicans; the Thunder will be without Andre Roberson for the season; the Nuggets and Jazz have lost Paul Millsap and Rudy Gobert for big chunks of the season, though both are playing now; and, of course, the Clippers traded Blake Griffin before last month’s deadline.
Of the eight teams vying for the final six playoff spots in the West, only the Spurs (3-7) have a losing record in their last 10 games, with the Trail Blazers (five straight wins) and Pelicans (seven straight wins) among the hottest teams in the group. Still, things could change quickly. Two or three losses in a row could send a team sliding down the standings in the West.
These teams have between 17 and 22 games left in the regular season, so we’re entering the home stretch, and there will be a key matchup worth watching nearly every day. The next two nights, for instance, will pit the Timberwolves vs. the Jazz and the Thunder vs. the Trail Blazers.
What’s your take on the Western Conference playoff race? Which two teams will miss the postseason? Which two teams will gain home-court advantage by nabbing the third and fourth seeds? Which first-round matchups would you most like to see?
Jump into the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!