Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, with guard Emmanuel Mudiay. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
From time-to-time when the subject of the end of the season comes up, Nuggets coach Michael Malone grins and slips in a one-liner about finishing strong and then getting ready to face Golden State in the first round of the playoffs.
Yuks all around.
But maybe he should be taken a little more seriously?
The Nuggets have not been eliminated from the playoff race. Far from it, actually, and shhhh… they’re quietly within striking distance of the eighth spot, just five games out. Not only that, but going into Sunday’s games the Nuggets are 10th in the conference at 28-38, so there aren’t a bunch of teams separating them from the seventh and eighth spots. Only Utah.
No one is getting overzealous, but it shouldn’t be ignored. The three teams ahead are No. 7 Houston (33-33), No. 8 Dallas (33-33) and No. 9 Utah (30-35). The Nuggets own the tiebreaker over Houston by sweeping the three games in the series. They have games against Dallas and Utah, both at home, still remaining on the schedule.
Any run at the postseason means the next 11 games to end the month of March are pivotal. They’ll either end the month in contention or stick-a-fork-in-them done. The Nuggets set themselves up well with a 5-2 homestand going into a bunch of road games — nine of them, in fact, in the 11 to end the month.
Finish this slate of games, say, 7-4, perhaps even 6-5, and the mad dash for a playoff spot is on. Doesn’t matter which six or seven the Nuggets win, just that they get them. Except, they must beat Dallas on March 28 to keep from losing the season series — and that tiebreaker — in one night.
Four of the Nuggets’ five games in April are at home, though none of them are easy. Three are against division rivals: Oklahoma City, Utah and Portland. The Utah game, of course, would be a must-win. The other two? One against San Antonio and another against George Karl’s Sacramento Kings.
But first thing’s first. The Nuggets must not put a goose-egg up on a five-game road trip that starts Monday in Miami. Every team on the trip is a good one — Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland. The Nuggets have already lost home games to all of them except the Hornets, and Charlotte is playing its best basketball of the season right now.
A shaky bottom of the Western Conference playoff race is keeping the Nuggets within arm’s reach. And yes, they would want to make the playoffs. Either way, they’re getting a lottery pick because the unraveling Knicks are headed to the lottery and the Nuggets would simply swap that pick, which is the final piece of the Carmelo Anthony trade. Getting the pick and playoff experience for young players all in one season would be a huge win-win. The Nuggets have won four straight. They’ll have to continue a high level of play to have a chance.
Nuggets extend Toupane. After a solid showing in his first 10-day contract, the Nuggets have signed forward Axel Toupane to another. The second 10-day contract started on Sunday, and the rookie was with the team as it traveled to Miami. Toupane, a D-League call up, averaged 4.6 points in five games, averaging 13.4 minutes per game. He had games of 10 and eight points, respectively, in his last two.
Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com
