National Basketball Association

The Two Things That Will Catapult the Denver Nuggets Into the Playoffs

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Denver Nuggets have a lot of potential and there are two elements that will help them get into the postseason if they play their cards right.

The Denver Nuggets have shown flashes of brilliance so far in this young season. There have also been some concerning factors.

However, a 2-2 record with the tough start of the schedule is not that bad, especially when one considers that the Nuggets have been in every game so far. If the Nuggets want to capture the elusive 8 seed, there are 2 things that will bring them into the playoffs.

Those attributes are rebounding and defense. Denver is the number 1 rebounding team in the league so far at 65.7 per game, but the defense has been lacking.

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If the defense can improve, then there is no telling how far this team can go this year.

Denver has had some major problem defensively to start the year, but there is still hope.

In case one is wondering why just defense and rebounding, there is a good explanation.

The Nuggets already have a bunch of offensive firepower to go along with a nice mix of veterans and youth. They have scored over 100 points in each of their games, but they have also let the opposition score over 100 points in 3 of their 4 games this season.

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Granted, Denver has been short-handed without their lock-down defender in Gary Harris being sidelined from injury. Once Harris returns, then some of the defensive woes should be reversed.

However, the Nuggets are going to need to do more defensively if they want to have any shot at the playoffs, especially when it pertains to containing star players.

Hopefully, Coach Malone will do something to aid in the defensive efforts as the year goes on. If this does happen, along with becoming better late in the stretch defensively, then Denver will be able to take a giant step forward.

This will be a deadly combination with the one thing they do best.

The Nuggets have always seemed to have found a way to win the battle on the glass.

The Denver Nuggets have always been a great rebounding team. As mentioned before, the Nuggets are the best team on the glass so far this season, leading by a healthy margin ahead of the next best team in the Thunder who grabs about 62 a game.

The “Jurkic,” front-court helps solidify the effort on the glass. Plus Arthur and Faried are great assets to have coming off the bench.

It is no secret that rebounding is a key part of winning. When you consider that Denver has great length in the paint to pair with a couple of wing players who can also grab a fair share of boards in Gallinari and Chandler, then that makes it extremely difficult for teams to win the rebounding battle.

If the Nuggets can solidify a defensive effort with their rebounding, two key aspects when it comes to basketball, then Denver may find themselves in a first-round match-up with Golden State or San Antonio come April.

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