In a season of broken records and general good feelings, the Nuggets’ next short-term goal sounds a bit like the condition of a person’s eyes.
It’s 40-20.
The Nuggets want 40 wins before 20 losses, a mark of success that has never been accomplished in the team’s NBA history. The latest the Nuggets have lost their 20th NBA game was in 1976-77, when they lost Feb. 23 to drop to 38-20. The Nuggets won 50 games that season and played in the Western Conference semifinals, which was the first round back then.
The 1975-76 Nuggets started 40-12 — in the ABA.
So would it be a good omen? Absolutely. Is it doable? At 31-16, the Nuggets need to go 9-3 to accomplish the feat.
“With the team we’ve got, the way we’ve been playing, I really think we can win nine games before we lose four games,” Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. “That’s possible. That would be great for us, especially going into the (all-star) break, and coming out of the break. We’re on pace to do it.”
But the Nuggets haven’t always done it. Since the beginning of the season and breaking the season into 12-game chunks, they have won nine games in a 12-game stretch just once, from Nov. 21-Dec. 15.
“I’d take that one,” said Nuggets coach George Karl of 40 wins before 20 losses. “I kind of subtly feel the next six weeks is not a crisis period, but it’s a challenging period. Great games at home, most of the games on the road. Winnable games, if we play the right way.
“But I like how we’re playing. We respond well when we lose. We have better basketball IQ than we’ve ever had. So, as I’ve said many times this year, I trust this team.”
After Tuesday’s game against San Antonio, the Nuggets have eight consecutive road games broken up by the all-star break. Six of their 12 games in February are against teams with winning records.
Going into Sunday’s games, the Nuggets were 12-15 against teams with .500 or better records, while being a near-perfect 19-1 vs. teams under .500.
“When you’re trying to break into that elite group, you do great against the teams that aren’t so great — we’ve passed that, we’ve done a good job with that,” guard Chauncey Billups said. “Now it’s time to start trying to beat some of the elite teams. It’s a great opportunity for us Tuesday (against San Antonio).”
Karl points out Nuggets wins at Boston, over the Spurs and three over Dallas as evidence the team is headed in the right direction, but says, “I agree that we need more mental toughness against good teams.”
Billups wants more wins against the upper echelon sooner rather than later.
“We’re getting there,” he said. “Not as close as I wish we were. But it’s all about game-to-game. If we can win a game Tuesday and win a couple more of these games, it speeds up your process. It’s all confidence and knowing that you can do it, not just talking about it.”
Footnotes.
Billups wore new gold basketball shoes trimmed in red during Sunday’s practice. He said he was breaking them in, as he will wear them in the All-Star Game, then never again. . . . According to Karl, the Nuggets “tinkered with some things” Sunday, including out-of-bounds plays.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Nuggets out of gate
Best 19-loss starts in NBA seasons with at least 40 wins:
1976-77: 38-19
1977-78: 33-19
1984-85: 30-19
1987-88: 29-19
2003-04, ’00-01, 1985-86: 26-19
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
