It will be a brisk 40 degrees in Denver at tipoff of tonight’s game between the Nuggets and Sacramento Kings, so if you’re in town you should probably escape the cold and head over to The Celtic for Stiffs Night Out! The Denver Nuggets will be sending Super Mascot Rocky, the Denver Nuggets Dancers, and bringing along prizes to hand out including tickets to upcoming Nuggets games, autographed memorabilia, and more! It’s also a great chance to meet Stiffs writers and other die-hard Nuggets fans, while watching the team (hopefully) cruise to a victory.
Fortunately for the actual team, the temperature in Sacramento will be a little bit warmer because the Nuggets are looking to go streaking. Denver has won its first two games in 2018, most recently in a convincing victory last night over the Utah Jazz. Tonight they face the lowly Kings, who present Denver the opportunity to win three in a row despite playing the second night of a back to back.
The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets (21-17) at Sacramento Kings (12-25)
When: 8:00 pm MST (SNO is at 7:00!)
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
How to watch: The Celtic at Stiffs Night Out! Also, Altitude TV
Rival Blog: Sactown Royalty
Sacramento goes into tonight’s game on four days’ rest, but the Nuggets have fared surprisingly well on road back-to-backs. Before Christmas, Denver defeated Jusuf Nurkic and the Portland Trail Blazers before blowing out the Golden State Warriors the following night. And on December 27, they took the Minnesota Timberwolves to OT in Minneapolis after beating Utah the night before at home, falling just short as Jimmy Butler took complete control in extra time.
The Kings are not a good team, but that doesn’t mean Denver can tread lightly. Yes, the Nuggets are playing very good basketball but they aren’t good enough to beat bad teams in their sleep just yet. The lack of rest compared to Sacramento will add an extra challenge but its one that the Nuggets have overcome before. The biggest key will be to play within themselves and not settle for bad jumpers early, as tired teams are prone to do. They also can’t be looking ahead to Monday’s game in Golden State, as good of a game as its looking to be.
After yesterday’s strong performance against Utah, a good matchup to watch will be Jamal Murray and fellow Kentucky Wildcat De’Aaron Fox. Murray is absolutely cooking as of late, shooting 46% from three on 5.4 attempts per game over the last 15 games. Fox scored 17 points in the Kings last game after missing six games due to injury and has had double-digit scoring nights twice against Denver this year. Also of note is George Hill, who continues to struggle adjusting to his role in Sacramento and has been somewhat vocal about his displeasure of the situation. Needless to say, that ship has sailed.
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