Denver Nuggets going streaking in Salt Lake City, face Utah Jazz tonight

The Denver Nuggets fly into Utah and take on a struggling Jazz team who are on a four-game losing streak, winning just three of their last ten games. Fortunately Nuggets fans should not worry about a trap game because head coach Michael Malone is fully aware of the dangers that will come from underestimating a struggling, yet talented team:

“They’ve lost four in a row. They’re going to come out and play so hard. They’re going to try to hit us in the mouth on the opening tip,” Malone said after Thursday’s practice. “How are we going to react to that? Our guys are feeling good about themselves right now. I showed them a film session this morning and told them that it’s great they’re feeling good and winning but we’re still doing a lot of things wrong. We have a long ways to go. We’ve taken advantage of the schedule lately, but we have to be ready for a very aggressive, physical team that’s going to come out and play with a great sense of urgency.”

The Jazz, despite their record, are a very strong team who have already beaten the Nuggets this season back in November. Look for Malone and the Nuggets to be fully prepared for the task at hand.

What went wrong?

Energy — watching last game it would be hard to guess that the Jazz were the ones on the second game of a back-to-back and the Nuggets rested. Denver came out without a killer intent, and that allowed the Jazz to hang around until they found their second wind and pulled ahead.

“I don’t know [where the energy went], but the energy was not there,” Gallinari said after that home loss. “Especially when you play against a team like that, second on a back to back, they might stay with you in the first two quarters but if you keep the same energy they will not stay with you the whole game. They had a lot more energy than us for sure.”

The Nuggets also had trouble defending the pick-and-roll, routinely going over them on non-shooters and scrambling into chaos before the Jazz hit an open shooter on the perimeter — on their way to a 11-24 night from beyond the arc.

“We’re not completely understanding our defensive concepts,” Malone said after that game. “We’re making a lot of the same mistakes over and over. Give [Utah] credit, they spread the floor, they went with a couple of unorthodox lineups with [Joe] Ingles as their point guard with shooters out there, and you have to account for [Rudy] Gobert at the rim. He’s such a terrific roller, but we had too many guys at the rim.”

Fortunately for the Nuggets, Gobert will be inactive after suffering a Grade II MCL sprain in practice on December 1st. The Utah big man gives the Nuggets headaches on both ends of the court with his rim protection and ability to roll to the rim.

Denver Nuggets

Injury report – Jusuf Nurkic – out (rehabbing from patella tendon surgery in his left knee), Wilson Chandler – out (right hip surgery), Emmanuel Mudiay – out (sprained ankle)

Nelson continues to fill in admirably for Mudiay, running the show better than the rookie is currently able. Mudiay should learn a ton watching from the bench, and the wins will be a good morale booster for the team. Consider this a blessing in disguise.

Harris will be tasked with guarding a spot up shooter — ironically what he struggles with most. Harris routinely leaves his man in order to help out on defense and regularly gets burned for it. Tonight we’ll see if the young guard can stay disciplined and stick on his man.

Gallinari comes off yet another solid game and will look to build upon his fantastic season. Less ball sticking and more playmaking is what fans all want to see from the Italian Stallion, and he seems to be getting the message — racking up five assists last game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and seven the game before against the Houston Rockets.

Gallo will also be tasked with guarding the Jazz’s best player as well as playmaker. If Danilo manages to cut the head off the snake and slow Hayward down, it’ll cause the Jazz countless headaches as they lack true playmakers on their roster. Malone could elect to stick Harris on Hayward, so Gallinari can save his energy for offense.

Faried will have his hands full on the defensive end as he takes on Favors, potentially giving the Nuggets problems tonight. Despite Faried’s defensive improvement this year, Favors can score in a number of ways and should give the Nuggets big man fits. Look for Malone to sub in Arthur when the going gets tough.

Lauvergne will be depended on for his typical production and hustle. I was wary on his production when he first donned on a Nuggets uniform, but he has pleasantly surprised since. Mr. Dependable in the flesh.

Utah Jazz

Injury report – Joe Ingles – game time decision (oral surgery), Gobert – out (MCL sprain), Dante Exum – out (ACL tear)

Burks will be a point guard in name alone as he will primarily be playing off-ball and spotting up from three, where he shoots 36.2 percent this season. Hayward will likely be handling the ball most of the time for the Jazz. Burks, an alumni of  the University of Colorado Boulder, is a pure scorer and will give the Nuggets fits if they cannot contain him.

Hood is primarily a spot-up shooter but is struggling from beyond the arc converting a mere 30.2 percent of his attempts. Don’t let his reputation fool you however — he can put it on the floor surprisingly well. Let’s hope the Nuggets don’t allow Hood to get comfortable and break out of his slump.

Hayward is huge threat to the Nuggets tonight as he’s not only the Jazz leading scorer but the primary playmaker. Stopping Hayward or at least slowing him down would play an instrumental part in a Nuggets win.

Favors is a mismatch for Faried, who still has trouble guarding big men who can outsize and overpower him. Fortunately I have faith in Malone to stop the bleeding with another option if Favors ends up having a little too much fun out there tonight.

Withey is like Joffrey in the fact that he’s solid but not spectacular. He won’t be much of a threat if the others are taken care of, but will be the main beneficiary via dump off passes if the rest of the defense scrambles in order to help stop the main scorers. If Withey has a good scoring game, it’ll mean that the Nuggets completely failed to adequately handle Hayward and Favors.