Nuggets fans had a full week to marinate in the dread of a rare three-game losing streak during the NBA All-Star break. Without an immediate game to assuage any concerns, the only relief in sight was footage of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic pulling pranks together in Indianapolis.
On the beaches of Costa Rica and the mountains of Aspen, however, the fourth-place Nuggets were unconcerned with the sour note on which they entered the break.
That much is clear from how players have backed up their confident words throughout the last week: a four-game win streak that had coach Michael Malone warning against regular-season pessimism Wednesday night.
“Last year, there were times I’m sure people thought, ‘Oh boy, the Nuggets are done. They’ve lost three in a row. They’re not that good.’ We won a championship,” Malone said after a 117-96 rout of the Sacramento Kings. “Even this year, we lost three in a row right before the All-Star break, and I’m sure there were plenty of people around Denver jumping off bridges somewhere. Everybody’s just gotta take a chill pill, man. Relax. Take a deep breath.”
It’s a line of thinking that corresponds with Malone’s transparent emphasis for the final third of the regular season. The Nuggets (40-19) aren’t focused on earning the top seed in the Western Conference as much as they are intent on keeping their starters healthy for the playoffs. After all, both Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed the final game and change before the break. Murray’s injury in particular (shin splints) is an issue often associated with physical workload.
But the Nuggets have gotten the best of both worlds from their point guard so far. He got to take one of the first four games off, and in the three he played, he averaged 25.7 points and 5.7 assists on 64.6% shooting (57.1% from three). Meanwhile, Caldwell-Pope has played extraordinary defense in consecutive wins against playoff teams, and Jokic has looked more rested than he says he is, registering triple-doubles comfortably in all four games.
“I feel great,” Caldwell-Pope said this week. “… Fresh. Recharged.”
“We know what time it is now,” Aaron Gordon said after Wednesday’s win. “It’s time to start ramping up. I know we didn’t want to be playing our best basketball early in the season.”
Malone has also been straightforward in that regard: He wants to treat the last stretch of the regular season as an opportunity for the Nuggets to ensure they’re playing to their identity when the playoffs arrive, rather than an everyday stress fest over the standings. Malone has expressed confidence in his team’s ability to repeat as champions if healthy, but his concerns only start to pop up if Denver is dealing with injuries, as was the case in the 2021 and 2022 playoffs.
“This is a good team,” Malone emphasized. “And when we’re healthy, we’re a really good team. And that’s been the key as well, being healthy with our starting group available. This group has proven they can beat anybody on any given tonight.”
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