After a successful 3-1 road trip last week, the Denver Nuggets return home to face the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. The home game will be a brief stop in Denver before heading out on the road again for games against the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. As it stands, the Nuggets find themselves just one-half game behind the Golden State Warriors for the number one seed in the Western Conference.
Denver (49-23) clinched a playoff berth with their win over the Boston Celtics last week and followed it up with wins against the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks. Strong 3-point shooting was key for the Nuggets last week, as they knocked down at least 14 3-pointers in their three wins.
Detroit (37-36) comes into tonight’s matchup having lost two-consecutive games as they battle for playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons are currently the seventh seed, but sit just one-half game behind the Brooklyn Nets. Blake Griffin is the driving force for Detroit, averaging 24.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game this season.
Detroit comfortably won the first matchup in the season series back in early February. Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Paul Millsap didn’t play in the 129-103 loss. Denver is 4-3 against the Pistons since Michael Malone took over as head coach before the 2015-2016 season.
Here are some keys to the game:
The battle on the boards: Denver and Detroit are two of the best rebounding teams in the league, which makes sense given the personnel on each team. Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokić are a formidable frontcourt pairing on the glass, while Detroit boasts Andre Drummond, the leading rebounder in the league, grabbing over 15 rebounds per game. While Denver is first in offensive rebound percentage, Detroit ranks sixth in that category. On the other end of the floor, the Nuggets rank sixth in defensive rebound percentage, while the Pistons rank fourth. The battle on the boards will likely go a long way in deciding the game.
Control the 3-point line: While the Pistons attempt a lot of 3-pointers (34.6 per game, which ranks seventh in the league), they are not a very accurate team, ranking 20th in 3-point percentage. The Nuggets just wrapped up a four-game road trip in which they knocked down 36.7 percent of their 3-pointers, and they rank 11th in the league in 3-point percentage this season. If Denver can do damage from beyond the arc and limit Detroit’s shooters, it will help the Nuggets control the game.
Defend home court: Home, sweet home. That’s exactly what the Nuggets are thinking after wrapping up the road trip on Sunday. While this is only a one-game pit stop in Denver, the Nuggets must take advantage of it before heading back out on the road. The Pistons are not a strong road team, owning a 14-23 record away from home this season. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are a league-best 30-6 at Pepsi Center this season.
The game will air on Altitude TV and the AltitudeNOW app. Fans can listen on Altitude Radio, 92.5 FM.