The Nuggets were presented this week with a chance to make a statement, or at least create some separation, in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
First, a game against a Sacramento Kings team on Thursday night that had just been shaken to its foundation by the trade of franchise cornerstone DeMarcus Cousins and was incorporating three new players.
Strike one. The Nuggets fell apart in a dismal second quarter and never recovered in a lopsided loss, a perplexing stumble out of the all-star break.
Its back suddenly against the ball, Denver didn’t miss Friday’s at-bats against a slow-swaying piñata that hung in the Pepsi Center in the form of the woeful Brooklyn Nets, who had lost 14 straight games.