The Nuggets have been been saying it all season long: The only team that is capable of beating the Nuggets is ...the Nuggets.
If last night was any indication, they may finally be moving from Western Conference pretender to Western Conference contender.
The 120-109 victory over the Jazz will count as one "W" in the standings, though from a tangential viewpoint, the effects of just that lone win, may have numerous long term and short term benefits. Here are a few.
JUST WIN, BABY
I know, wrong sport, and I'm quoting the Oakland Raiders. Kind of a double whammy. Sorry about that. However, it's not as sorry as the Nuggets looked earlier this week in losses in Charlotte and Atlanta. They were hoping to win both games on their short road trip and in a worst case sceanrio, split the games. What's worse than a worst case scenario? Well, whatever that may be is what the Nuggets were feeling. Instead of sweeping, the Nuggets had the brooms broughttout on them. Charlotte and Atlanta? Great cities in the south? You bet. Is losing to them both a sure sign that the Nuggets may be heading south? Possibly. That is why the win Thursday was so crucial. The Nuggets have fought through injuries, but no injury excuses could compensate for losses to the Bobacts and Hawks. A win over Utah alleviates a little of the sting.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Going Alfred Hitchcock on you, though there is nothing to be scared of. A look at the Western Conference standings shows around 10 teams in the hunt for eight playoff spots. So winning a division becomes crucial. It's an automatic postseason qualiifer and with Utah and Portland both battling Denver for the Northwest title, it was beneficial for the Nuggets to knock off one of those teams. Sure, you can still make the playoffs without winning your division, after all, five teams in the Western Conference will do just that. The problem is, there could be seven teams fighting for five spots. You do the math. Win the division and you don't have to concern yourself with any number crunching.
BENCHWARMERS
Funny movie, yeah. A problem for the Nuggets. Maybe. With the injury to Chucky Atkins and a health scare to Nene, the Nuggets need their reserves to step up. On Thursday, Linas Kleiza scored 41 points. I don't think anybody is really expecting him to do that nightly, but getting solid bench production is vital down the stretch.
For one night, everything went well for the Nuggets. The question remains, is this the start of something big or the start of yet another inconsistent stretch?
-"Z"
