For a young team, flawed fundamentals can prove fatal.
After committing 27 turnovers and allowing 26 second-chance points against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, the Denver Nuggets will look to be more effective and efficient when they complete a back-to-back set Monday at Charlotte.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball, and (improving) our role mentality – the things we talk about when you’re playing your role,” Denver coach Brian Shaw said. “Fundamentally, boxing out and doing the things that we need to do to win.”
The loss snapped Denver’s two-game winning streak. The Nuggets have four games remaining on a five-game trip.
Charlotte won at Pepsi Center on Jan. 29. Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson sat out that game with a shoulder injury, but he is healthy again and playing as well as he has all season.
In four games since returning from a fractured rib, Lawson is averaging 24 points, 11.8 assists and two steals. He also leads the NBA at 9.0 assists per game.
Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried also has raised his game of late. In 11 games since the All-Star break, Faried is averaging 17.9 points, 8.7 rebounds while shooting .585 from the field.
NUGGETS AT BOBCATS
WHEN: 5 p.m. MT
WHERE: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte
TV; RADIO: Altitude2; AM-950
PROBABLE STARTERS
DENVER (27-35)
F Wilson Chandler
F Kenneth Faried
C Timofey Mozgov
G Randy Foye
G Ty Lawson
CHARLOTTE (29-34)
F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
F Josh McRoberts
C Al Jefferson
G Chris Douglas-Roberts
G Kemba Walker
INJURY REPORT
DENVER: Danilo Gallinari (knee), JaVale McGee (stress fracture, left tibia) and Nate Robinson are out.
CHARLOTTE: Brendan Haywood (stress fracture, left foot), Gerald Henderson (right calf strain) and Jeffery Taylor (ruptured Achilles' tendon) are out.
SERIES NOTES
The overall series has been relatively close in recent years, with Denver leading the series 8-5 since 2006-07 . . . The Nuggets are 7-2 all-time at home against the Bobcats, with their only losses coming on 1/29/07 (101-105) and earlier this season on 1/29/14 (98-101) . . . The Nuggets and Bobcats have split the season series (1-1) five times in nine years since Charlotte joined the NBA . . . The Bobcats’ biggest win ever against the Nuggets is only 12 points (107-95 at Charlotte on 12/8/09), while the Nuggets’ biggest win over Charlotte was a 40-point home victory the last times the teams faced off at the Pepsi Center (120-80 in Denver on 3/2/11).