The Nuggets average 43.4 points in the paint, which ranks fifth in the NBA, but in the past three games they have played as if they were the 1999 Spurs.
Sixty points against Oklahoma City. Fifty-two against the Los Angeles Clippers. And in Monday night’s 121-96 drubbing of the New Jersey Nets, the Nuggets had 62 points in the low post.
Even more impressive was Nene and Kenyon Martin combining for 27 points in a total of just 40 minutes played. After missing four of the past five games because of a strained lower back, Martin returned to Denver’s starting lineup and in 15 first-half minutes had eight points, four rebounds and a steal. Coach George Karl decided to rest Martin in the second half.
Now comes the question of how to handle the next week.
Denver (43-25) has just two games in the next seven days, and those are against lowly Memphis and even lowlier Washington. Karl said Martin is worried the injury could be “a lingering thing.”
Karl added: “We have a schedule where we might be able to rest him the next couple of days if necessary.”
But there are just 15 games left, and Karl wants the Nuggets to “start playing like a playoff team than a good team, so my feeling is that Kenyon needs to get into his individual groove and confidence. . . . My worry is getting him back on the basketball court. He’s missed a lot of basketball. . . . But the whole emphasis for about the last week is getting in a playoff groove.”
