While the schedule release on ESPN moved forward at a snail’s pace for the Denver Nuggets, we ultimately learned the eight teams that the Nuggets will play while in the Orlando bubble leading up the the playoffs from an outside source.
From the Denver Post’s own Mike Singer, the Nuggets will play the following eight teams:
This is slightly different from what Denver’s schedule was supposed to be from a competitive standpoint. Instead of playing the Oklahoma City Thunder twice and the San Antonio Spurs twice, the Nuggets are slated to add games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, division opponents against which the Nuggets still had games to play.
The full schedule for the Denver Nuggets in Orlando:
Brief Thoughts
There are several games the Nuggets will play early in the schedule that are very early games, which isn’t surprising given that the NBA wants to squeeze as much viewership out of this initial schedule as possible.
The Nuggets will have an opportunity early in the schedule to play games against non-title contenders, which means they have to win those games if they want to maintain their 3rd seed status. The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder are both solid teams, but they have flaws the Nuggets can certainly exploit. After that, games against the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, and Utah Jazz won’t be easy, but certainly won’t be the gauntlet Denver could face later in the schedule.
The full schedule released by the NBA:
