Toronto Raptors: 3 keys to W over Denver Nuggets

The Toronto Raptors put their 8-game win streak on the line against the Denver Nuggets. The visitors have a 5-gamer of their own. Whose will be broken?

After a workmanlike effort to secure a win over the Cavaliers in Cleveland, the Toronto Raptors are home to face the excellent Denver Nuggets. The Golden State Warriors continue to be in a funk, and as a result, the top spots in the NBA’s Western Conference are occupied by two surprise teams, the LA Clippers and the Nuggets. Denver isn’t really a surprise; they have been a gathering storm for several years.

The Nuggets have been a streaky squad so far. They won nine of their first ten, then dropped six of seven. Since then – five straight victories. They defeated the Trail Blazers in Portland to begin their five-game road trip, and tonight is Game Two.

The Raptors visit Denver on December 16 to complete the season series, which is fine with me. The Nuggets are missing two key contributors, highly accurate swingman Will Barton and tiny troublemaker Isaiah Thomas. Hopefully their injuries will keep them out of both matches. Let them do damage to the rest of the NBA.

It’s not like the Nuggets are broke without those two. Their roster is headed by two excellent guards, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray, and a remarkable center from Serbia named Nikola Jokic. This guy averages 7.2 assists per game, by far the best mark in the league for his position. He also scores and rebounds, and is even developing a deep shot. Veteran power forward Paul Millsap has been healthy and contributing on both sides of the ball.

The fifth starter tonight is Juan Hernangomez, who’s listed as a Small Forward or Power Forward, depending on which data source you look at. He’s a solidly built Spaniard likely to give either Kawhi Leonard or Pascal Siakam a workout.

The Nuggets bench is severely weakened without Barton and Thomas. Monte Morris often enters as the backup point guard, for example.

3 keys to Raptors victory

1. Maintain offensive pressure on Jokic. The best way to deal with his two-way excellence is to sit him down with foul trouble. Perhaps as a result of concern over this issue, Jokic doesn’t block a lot of shots. Go at him.
2. Know where Millsap is at all times. He’s a master rebounder, and we just saw how one of those (Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson) can single-handedly keep his team in a game. Someone’s got to get their body into Millsap when a shot goes up. The Raptors give up too many second-chance opportunities.
3. Bench mob – seize this chance! Denver’s rotation players are weak. It’s long past time for our group to have a strong outing. Don’t settle for jumpers; there will be space in the paint.

Prediction

Kyle Lowry isn’t named as a starter, which makes this game even more difficult to call than it already was. The Nuggets’ so-so offense, particularly when the starters are getting a rest, causes me to decide in Toronto’s favour, but not by much.

Toronto Raptors 112 – Denver Nuggets 108