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The Denver Nuggets are trying to prevent their season from ending tonight against the Utah Jazz. After winning an exciting game at five behind another magical performance by Jamal Murray, the Nuggets now have to carry the momentum to a victory in game six. The fact that this game is being played in the bubble and not in Utah as it would be in a normal season is encouraging for Denver. Still, the Jazz played well in all five games in this series so far.
Donovan Mitchell has been everything Murray has and more. Jordan Clarkson continues to be the best midseason transaction of the year and is successfully filling the role of second scoring threat for the team. With Rudy Gobert starting pick and roll action often for those two playmakers, the Nuggets have struggled to stop the Jazz. Tonight may well be the third time in this series that Denver is up to the task of winning a free-for-all offense if they are to survive.
WHO: Denver Nuggets (2-3) vs Utah Jazz (3-2)
When: 6:30 pm MDT
Where: The bubble. Orlando, FL.
How to watch / listen: Denver Stiffs don’t condone hacking … unless it’s the romanticized 18th century type. TNT, Altitude TV where available. League Pass for market spectators outside of Denver. Get in the bubble with an Adam Silver mask. 92.5 FM KKSE Altitude Sports Radio.
Projected pairings
| Position | Nuggets | Jazz | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Nuggets | Jazz | Advantage |
| PG | Mount morris | Mike Conley Jr. | Jazz |
| SG | Jamal murray | Donovan Mitchell | Even |
| SF | Jerami Scholarship | Joe Ingles | Even |
| Pf | Paul millsap | Royce O’Neale | Jazz |
| C | Nikola Jokic | Rudy gobert | Nuggets |
| Bank | Michael Porter Jr., Torrey Craig, Gary Harris? PJ Dozier, Mason Plumlee | Jordan Clarkson, Georges Niang, Emmanuel Mudiay and Tony Bradley | Jazz |
Player Availability: Gary Harris – questionable (hip); Will Barton: out (knee); Vlatko Čančar – out (foot); Bojan Bogdanović – out (wrist); Ed Davis: out (knee); Justin Wright-Foreman: out (not with the team).
Photo by Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images and photo by Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images
With two teams exchanging body blows like these and how even they are (when at least Denver shows up), it all comes down to strategy. The Nuggets finally began holding Utah back on the pick and roll in the second half of the fifth game and that led to Denver’s victory. Snyder will surely have an answer ready, and since the Jazz have been relentless with their shooting and scoring the entire series, a successful strategy could be to keep doing what they’re doing so Malone has to be in the top of his game as well.
The biggest wrinkle that can be thrown into both teams’ game plans is if Harris ends up participating. His pregame status has progressed throughout the series from questionable to now questionable for the second game in a row. The players’ strike also gave Gary an extra couple of days off. At 100%, it represents the Nuggets’ best chance to stop Mitchell, but it’s foolhardy to think it will be. Even if Harris is feeling fine physically, he still hasn’t played in an NBA game since March. If it’s available tonight, it’ll be interesting to see Malone roll it out.
The Nuggets have been fighting an uphill battle in this series since Game 2. It hasn’t been pretty and Utah so far has beaten the Nuggets, but they have yet to eliminate them. If Denver can keep up with Utah and make some key stops down the stretch, there’s no reason to think they won’t be able to drive the Jazz away late like they did in games one and five. All they need tonight is to get the win and then there’s a single elimination game left. The absence of crowds gives them an advantage over a typical “road” six game and they had an extra couple of days to rest. This game sets up nicely for the Nuggets to force a game seven.
