The NBA's In-Season Tournament begins this week, and the defending champions are looking to add another trophy to their collection.
All 30 teams are split up into six separate groups, sorted by conference, for the Group Stage of the FIFA-style tournament. The Nuggets will play in Group B, which includes the LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets. Groups were determined by last season's record.
The Nuggets will play four seeding games against the teams in Group B to determine who advances to the Knockout Round. These games occur on designated nights—Fridays and Tuesdays—excluding Election Night on November 7th. The results of the seeding games will count toward the regular season standings.
Teams that finish with the best record from each group will advance to the Knockout Stage. Two wildcard teams from each conference will also advance based on the best remaining record.
Next up is the Knockout Stage, which resembles the March Madness Tournament due to its single-elimination format. The Knockout Stage is set to run from December 4th to December 9th. The Quarterfinals and Semifinals will count toward the regular season standings; however, the Championship game will not.
The Quarterfinals will be played at the higher seed's home arena. The Semifinals and Championship will be played at the neutral playing field of Las Vegas. From there, the first-ever In-Season Tournament champion will be crowned.
In celebration of the inaugural tournament, all 30 teams unveiled their very own In-Season Tournament courts. Denver's features a Cobalt Blue and Nuggets Gold base, with the phrase "MILE HIGH BASKETBALL" along the sidelines and "5280" at halfcourt. 5280, of course, represents the team's Mile High advantage; the Nuggets play at the highest elevation in the league, 5,280 feet above sea level.
Speaking of 5280, the Nuggets will also be wearing the brand-new City Edition uniforms during their two Group Stage home games. You can read more about Denver's brand-new threads here.
Without further ado, let's take a closer look at Denver's four Group Stage seeding games.
Friday, November 3rd: Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks, 8 p.m. MT
Denver begins its In-Season Tournament journey with a home game against the undefeated Dallas Mavericks.
This will be the first time that fans get to see Denver's '5280' City Edition uniforms and the In-Season Tournament court in person.
Dallas has had quite the start to the season after taking down the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies, and Brooklyn Nets on a heroic shot from Luka Dončić.
Speaking of Dončić, he's looked every bit the part of an MVP candidate this year by averaging an NBA-best 33.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 9.8 assists in four games for a near triple-double. He's also been masterfully efficient with 51.1 percent overall shooting and 42.2 percent from three-point range.
The Nuggets have an MVP candidate of their own, Nikola Jokić, who's averaging 26.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 7.4 assists on 60.4 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three. Jokić won the first Western Conference Player of the Week (over Dončić) earlier this week.
Matchups between the two triple-double machines are always must-watch television.
Tuesday, November 14th: Denver Nuggets vs. LA Clippers, 8 p.m. MT
Denver stays home for the second of their four Group Stage seeding games and will once against be wearing the '5280' City Edition uniforms.
There, they'll face off with the LA Clippers.
The Clippers made a splashy move to begin the year and acquired 10-time All-Star, James Harden, from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Harden has yet to suit up for the Clippers, but assuming things go to plan, he'll be ready to rock against Denver.
How Harden fits in with LA's core of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook will be fascinating to watch. The 34-year-old point guard's an expert at orchestrating offense in the halfcourt, particularly in the pick-and-roll, and his teams tend to fare well in the regular season.
LA's had a solid start to the season at 3-2 and currently sit in 7th place in the Western Conference. George is averaging a team-high 28.8 points on 56 percent from the field and 51.2 percent from three, while Leonard is averaging 23 points on 47.3 percent shooting and 47.2 percent from deep.
This one's not to be missed, as it could be one of the first looks at the new-look Clippers with Harden in the fold.
Friday, November 17th: Denver Nuggets @ New Orleans Pelicans, 6 p.m. MT
Denver hits the dusty trail to New Orleans for the third seeding game.
The Pelicans have had a delightful 3-1 start to the year with wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, and Memphis Grizzlies.
A healthy Zion Williamson has rejuvenated the Pelicans' playoff chances, who missed last postseason altogether while the 2-time All-Star nursed a hamstring injury.
Williamson is one of three Pelicans to average north of 20 points per game. In four games, the 23-year-old has put up 21.5 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting.
The other two are Brandon Ingram, averaging a team-high 22.5 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting, and CJ McCollum, averaging 21 points a game on 44.6 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three.
The Pelicans are one of the six-best rebounding teams in the league, as six players on their roster are averaging north of 6 boards per game: Williamson (6.8), Ingram (7), McCollum (6), Jonas Valančiūnas (7.8), and Larry Nance Jr. (6.5).
That'll be something to watch for the Nuggets, who haven't cleaned the glass as well as normal and rank 24th out of 30 teams in rebounding at the time of writing this.
Friday, November 24th: Denver Nuggets @ Houston Rockets, 6 p.m. MT
Denver's In-Season Tournament Group Stage experience ends with a road game against the Houston Rockets.
Houston's roster makeup is interesting. It features a cadre of intriguing young players (Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Alperen Şengün, and Jabari Smith Jr.) mixed with an older trio of veterans (Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and former Nugget, Jeff Green), all of whom were signed this offseason to boost Houston's playoff chances.
That gamble has yet to pay dividends, as the Rockets have started the season just 1-3. Still, it's early in the year, and things in the NBA can change dramatically. The early portion of the season tends to be a little volatile.
Şengün has so far lived up to his preseason billing of being the next breakout star for the Rockets. He's putting up a career-high 19.3 points on 58.9 percent shooting, to go with 8.5 rebounds and 6 assists. Jokić has spoken glowingly about the Turkish big man, previously stating, "The guy has the talent."
Şengün called Jokić his "idol" back in 2022, so it'll be fun to watch two of the best passers at the center position battle in Denver's final Group Stage contest.
If all goes well, and Denver is able to progress into the Knockout Round, this could be the Nuggets' first chance at putting a stamp on the 2023-24 season and defending their 2023 NBA championship proudly.