Denver Nuggets vs. Dallas Mavericks: 3 Interesting Storylines

Look at Luka.

That’s it. Luka Doncic. He’s hard to nail down, he’s precocious like Jokic but he’s also athletic like……James Harden.  You couldn’t find two more dissimilar players, right?  That’s the intrigue of Doncic, he’s smart but he’s also athletic.  He’s been a highlight reel darling.

Denver Nuggets

For the Nuggets, it’ll fall once again to Torrey Craig and Juan Hernangomez to shadow the Slovenian star.  If we’ve learned anything over the Denver streak of 10 wins in 12 games it’s that defensively, the team is up to pretty much any challenge.

Lots of credit in the starting lineup to Craig and Juancho, who’ve been tasked with some stiff competition lately and come out with equally stiff performances.  Russell Westbrook‘s frustration at Craig’s defense boiled over last week and resulted in a shoving incident with Jamal Murray.

Kawhi Leonard had 25 against Denver but never was allowed to take over the game.  Denver stayed close on their defense and eventually broke through.  This is the same challenge they face on Tuesday night in Doncic.  The Mavericks have been surprisingly good behind the play of Luka.  The beat goes on for the Nuggets, there are no easy games, particularly when you are the number one team and the measuring stick for the other teams in the league.

The beauty of the whole thing and a fact that everyone is well aware:  Denver is doing it with three starters and three reserves benched with injury.  It hasn’t mattered, the Nuggets have forged ahead despite the challenges: