Golden State Warriors Should Be Glad They Aren’t In Nuggets’ Position

In the NBA, teams either strive to be really good or really bad.

The Golden State Warriors (32-6) fit the first category, winning at a torrid pace and showing no signs of stopping with the NBA’s best record and seeking a championship. On the other end of the spectrum are teams such as the 76ers (8-32), who are losing at a torrid pace and are seeking the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, not a ring. There are outliers such as the Knicks (5-36), who are trying to be good but are just really, really bad. But still, at least they are on one end of the spectrum.

It’s the teams in the middle, the teams that are neither good nor bad that are the unluckiest, especially teams in the Western Conference. Such is the case for the Denver Nuggets (18-22), who are stuck in no man’s land.

More from Blue Man Hoop

• 3x champion may come to regret forgoing Golden State Warriors reunion
• Golden State Warriors: History shows USA may need Stephen Curry for more than the Olympics
• 7 players Golden State Warriors might replace Klay Thompson with by the trade deadline
• Golden State Warriors villain pours on more pain to end USA’s World Cup
• Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry continues philanthropic efforts off the court

In the Eastern Conference, their record would slot them in the seventh seed, just 2.5 games behind the Cavaliers. They would have an excellent chance at securing a playoff berth, and with the state of the East, possibly make a run in the postseason.

In the East, they would have life; in the West, they are in Purgatory.

The Nuggets are in that awkward position: 11th in the West, five games back of the Suns for the eighth spot but having to leapfrog three teams to get to the playoffs. If they make a run for the postseason, they will have to combat teams such as the Thunder, who are just getting healthy and starting to become dangerous, and the Suns, who barely missed the playoffs last season and are as determined as ever this time around. Plus, even if they squeak into the eighth seed, they will probably be squashed by the West’s elites — such as the Warriors or Blazers or Grizzlies — in the first round.

Or, they could tank — in kinder words, start making roster moves and shipping out pieces for future assets. They’ve begun the process, trading Timofey Movgov to the Cavaliers for two first round draft picks, allowing them to start promising youngster Jusuf Nurkic at center. Then they sent Nate Robinson to the Celtics and replaced him with Jameer Nelson — a rather lateral move but still, it’s making changes instead of staying stagnant in Purgatory.

But it seemingly doesn’t matter what they do; barring a major winning streak of some sort, odds of making the playoffs are slim. They won five straight earlier this month — a streak that included wins over Memphis and Dallas — but that only moved them up one spot in the West and they gained virtually no ground on the eight-seeded Suns.

Their roster isn’t half bad — Kenneth Faried is an exciting player, Ty Lawson is a venerable point guard, Aaron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler are versatile wings, and they have veteran role players in Nelson, Randy Foye, and J.J. Hickson. It is also worth noting that JaVale McGee and Danilo Gallinari are hurt.

If anything, that’s a team that deserves to be in the playoffs much more than the languid, sluggish, brutally-hard-to-watch Brooklyn Nets, who own the eighth spot in the East with a record of 17-24.

But, the Nuggets are in the West, and in one of the worst positions imaginable in today’s NBA.

So, when they visit Oracle Arena on Monday afternoon, just be glad the Warriors are 32-6 and we don’t have to debate the “to tank or not to tank” scenarios.

Key Matchups

Draymond Green vs. Kenneth Faried: These two players are the “emotional leaders” of their respective teams — both are energy players who make up for any lack of skill with heart and hustle. There’s reason why Faried’s nickname is “The Manimal” and Green is known as the “heartbeat” of the Warriors. Watching Green and Faried play their hearts out against each other should be fun.

Andrew Bogut vs. Jusuf Nurkic: Nurkic is a 20-year-old rookie who has suddenly found himself as an NBA starting center after Movgov was traded. The Nuggets did not make this move by accident; they see promise in Nurkic, and it’s not hard to tell why. The big man is playing just 14.6 minutes per game this season, but is averaging 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.21 blocks. Stretch those stats to per 36 minutes and they blow up to 16.4 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks. The book on Nurkic is that he has above-average speed for his 6’11” frame, can finish at the rim, and has excellent range, able to hit jump shots:

That could spell danger for Bogut, who does not like to venture out to defend his man.

Klay Thompson vs. Arron Afflalo: Both two-way players, Thompson and Afflalo possess similar skill-sets: ability to guard multiple positions, stretch the floor on offense, and shoot from the perimeter. Now, there’s no denying that Thompson’s the better of the two, but he could be potentially nullified by Afflalo this afternoon.

Keys to the Game

1. Build off Saturday’s win: The Warriors put up 131 points in Houston and exploded in the second half. Using that momentum and carrying it over to Monday should result in a hot start and a continuation of the dominant play.

2. Don’t get thrown off by early start: The Warriors are not accustomed to playing early afternoon games at home. Their routine will be thrown off — not as much time to prepare, to rest up before the game — but they cannot let that affect them.

3. Start homestand off on right foot: This will be the first of a five-game homestand for the Warriors, and the Nuggets are a team they should beat with ease. These keys to the game are vague because really, the Warriors should win as long as their play is par for the course.

Prediction

A tighter-than-expected game, but a win nonetheless for the Warriors. The Nuggets always put up a good fight against Golden State, and they surely haven’t forgotten about the upset in the playoffs two years ago.