Denver Nuggets gaining momentum as the playoffs approach – NBA Feature
The Denver Nuggets have been on a roll recently. Just last week, they were outside of the playoff picture looking in with bleak chances of making it through. People were busy talking about Houston, Utah and Phoenix in the bottom
half of the Western Conference bracket and the Nuggets seemed to be going by un-noticed.
However, the Broncos have gone through an amazing turnaround, and are now placed 7th
in the Western Conference just half game behind the defending champions Dallas Mavericks, and making preparations to head into the playoffs. Before tonight’s close loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nuggets won their last two games, both against
the charging Houston Rockets who were competing with them for playoff positioning.
But it is not just those two games. Denver seem to have hit a purple patch in recent past, going un-noticed because of the winning streaks of Clippers, Lakers and the Spurs. However, they are 7-4 in their last 11games and seem
to be gaining a great deal of momentum as they head into the playoffs. Add to that the fact that the Nuggets are a great crunch time team and we have a formidable proposition for anybody up West.
The Nuggets are 12-9 in games decided by 5 points or less, and 5-2 in overtime games this season.
Kenneth Faried, the swashbuckling rookie has a tendency of outperforming his abilities in close situations. In 56 minutes of crunch time, he has 27 points and 19 rebounds, 8 of which are offensive. This goes a long way to show
that even with a relatively inexperienced team, the Nuggets have the capability to close games and play big in crunch time situations, an asset going into the playoffs.
If you look at the stats this season, the Nuggets are one of the most consistent crunch time teams in the NBA, only behind Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
Another arsenal in the Nuggets offense is their high flying fast paced style of play. They are literally Miami Heat, minus the stars. Denver lead the league in points scored per match at 103.57, one of only 4 teams including Miami
and OKC above the 100 point mark. And they do not have superstar high scorers such as Kevin Durant or LeBron James. That is a big achievement and makes this team very unpredictable and dangerous.
And finally, Denver has two rising stars who have been on a hot streak as of late. Arron Afflalo is averaging 15.2 points per game this season and Ty Lawson, who is averaging 15.9 points and 6.6 assists per game. These two players
form a very formidable back court combination for the Nuggets and are the source of most of their points. And they have Faried, JaVale McGee and Danilo Gallinari to assist them on the paint.
Together, this team has a roster that could cause trouble to the power houses of the Western Conference. In George Karl, the Nuggets have one of the most decorated coaches in NBA history. This is the 20th consecutive
season in which George Karl has led his respective team to a 0.5 or better win loss record and this time it seems that the Nuggets are destined for a deep playoffs run.
A few days ago, Charles Barkley said in an interview that Oklahoma City Thunder would not like to face Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. After watching them play this past month, I agree with his statement.
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