The Denver Nuggets scratched out a huge win on Tuesday night, taking down the Minnesota Timberwolves in a battle of teams at the top of the standings in the Western Conference. They moved into a share of the #1 spot with the victory, and they can use the schedule to their advantage down the stretch in order to stay there.
Nuggets Beat Wolves, Move Into Share Of 1st Place
“The Denver Nuggets right now, to me, are in championship form.”
—@jj_redick 👀 pic.twitter.com/ceZlsReeQa
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 20, 2024
Denver has been threatening the top of the standings all season long. It has been the Timberwolves and the Thunder that have been jockeying for supremacy in the West, but the Nuggets have always been in the rearview. From November 19th until March 11th, Denver spent a total of just two days as the #1 seed, but that trend has changed over the past week.
The Nuggets had at least a share of the lead in the conference for 5 straight days last week, but fell out when they suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Mavericks on Sunday. They now hold a share again with the Thunder, but are actually a few percentage points behind OKC due to playing two extra games thus far (one more win and one fewer loss than the Thunder).
It looks as though they’ll have a good shot of staying at the top. Based on their remaining opponents winning percentage, the Nuggets have the 2nd softest schedule the rest of the way, behind only the Boston Celtics.
Light Schedule Down The Stretch For Denver
Got it done #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/v4VQALkgMt
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 20, 2024
Denver still has some tough contests down the stretch, including two more against the Timberwolves. They still have to take on the Cavaliers, Clippers, and Knicks, as well. But they also have dates with some of the leagues poorest teams, including four of the five teams with the worst records in the NBA. That includes the Pistons, Wizards, and Trail Blazers, and two still to play against the Hornets. Throw in a contest against the Bulls, and two against the Hawks, for good measure.
To make things even easier on Denver, they’ll play 8 of their final 13 games at home.
Minnesota comes in at #17 on the list of toughest remaining schedules, and the Thunder have the 6th toughest.
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