WASHINGTON — Sure, the last Eastern Conference road swing was good — a 2-1 record, a win at Cleveland.
But there are loftier goals to reach.
Like this one: “I want to win all three of these games on this road trip,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. “And it starts with this game tonight.”
The Nuggets next three opponents — Washington, Atlanta and Toronto are currently the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. At 12-5, the Wizards are off to a hot start and are even better at home, getting off to one of their best starts in decades.
Point guard John Wall is a big reason why, and he’ll be among the many players the Nuggets must keep under control if they are to win.
“The first thing we have to do is get back in transition and wall-off John Wall,” Shaw said. “He’s dangerous with the ball, we know that. He’s one of the fastest guys with the ball in his hand from end-to-end in the league.”
And while Ty Lawson draws the opening assignment of slowing Wall, Nuggets’ bigs will also play a role.
“We have to help on John Wall penetration because he is good with ball,” center Timofey Mozgov said.
But the roll call of players the Nuggets have to be concerned with doesn’t end with Wall. Not by a long shot.
Bradley Beal, Paul Pierce, Marcin Gortat and Nene (should he play), are all capable of putting up big numbers if defenses fall asleep on them.
“They have a very balanced attack,” Shaw said. “They’re a team that’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. They’re in the top three of the Eastern Conference. So it’ll be a good test for us. We want to get off on the right foot, starting with this game tonight.”
Shootaround notes. Forward Danilo Gallinari was under the weather and did not participate in Friday morning’s shootaround. He’s expected to be available to play tonight, but “We wanted to conserve whatever energy (Gallo) did have and save it for the game tonight.” … Center JaVale McGee was limited during shootaround due to continued soreness in his left tibia. He’s expected to be available, but will be day-to-day depending on “how he feels and his pain threshold,” Shaw said. … Center Jusuf Nurkic is not with the team for personal reasons.
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or
