The Denver Nuggets are playing against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight. Both teams are going to be resting most of their good players tonight as seeding is more than likely locked for the Nuggets. As for the Lakers, they were eliminated from playoff contention a couple of nights ago and now are looking at a long and fickle offseason. The two teams have met twice this season with the Nuggets winning both of those matchups.
The Nuggets will look to end the season on a high note and gain momentum going into the playoffs while also potentially getting Zeke Nnaji and Vlatko Cancar back right before the playoffs. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are still ruled out, and with that the regular season will end with those two having played nine games combined this regular season.
The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets (48-33, 23-17 at home) vs Los Angeles Lakers (32-49, 11-29 on the road)
When: 7:30 PM MST
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
How to Watch/Listen: NBA League Pass, Altitude TV (If you’re lucky enough), or 92.5 FM KKSE Altitude Sports Radio
Rival Blog: Silver Screen and Roll
Three Things to Watch
Zeke Nnaji or Jamychal Green?
Zeke Nnaji has been upgraded to questionable for this game after missing significant time, only appearing in one game since February with a knee injury. Before he got injured he had worked his way into becoming a rotation mainstay and had played himself into normal minutes for the first time in his short career. However, after the injury the Nuggets turned to veteran Jamychal Green who had struggled before but since the trade deadline has had quite the turnaround. He has been better than what he was, but still not perfect. He has still struggled from 3, only shooting 31.8% from 3 since the trade deadline.
The question of the Nuggets bench heading into the playoffs will be whether the Nuggets will play Zeke Nnaji or Jamychal Green as their third big. I personally would lean towards Zeke Nnaji’s shooting and defense, but Jamychal Green has been pretty solid for the past couple of months in Zeke’s absence.
Who leads the Nuggets?
With the Nuggets likely resting Will Barton, Nikola Jokic, Monte Morris, and Aaron Gordon it will be interesting to see who can lead the Nuggets on the court tonight. Will it be Bones? Can Nuggets fans expect to see him drop a new career high? Maybe, we’ll see.
Perimeter Containment and Defense
One of the Nuggets’ biggest weaknesses as a team is their lack of perimeter defense, and the frequency at which they allow opposing guards and forwards to drive for easy looks. The Nuggets really need to lock in on that end, and their back court especially. It would be nice to see the Nuggets’ reserves lock in tonight.
