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The Brooklyn Nets will visit the Denver Nuggets for a thrilling NBA matchup on May 8th.
The Brooklyn Nets (43-24) are coming off four consecutive defeats (one against the Portland Trail Blazers, two against the Milwaukee Bucks, and one at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks). Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played in three of those losses.
The Denver Nuggets (44-23), on the other hand, fell to the current top seed in the NBA, the Utah Jazz, and will play against the Brooklyn Nets on the second night of a back-to-back.
This will be the second and final game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Denver Nuggets in the 2020-21 NBA regular season. The Nuggets defeated the Nets in their previous match on January 12th, a day before James Harden was traded to Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Nets vs Denver Nuggets prediction
Both the Brooklyn Nets and the Denver Nuggets had chances to finish as the top-seeded team in their respective conferences. However, their chances of doing that are now looking quite slim, and both teams should instead focus on entering the NBA Playoffs with a healthy squad.
Despite coming off a loss against the Donovan Mitchell-less Utah Jazz, the Denver Nuggets have seven wins in their last 10 games. The evolution of Michael Porter and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic has kept the team at a high level, even after Jamal Murray's season-ending injury.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets will be without James Harden on Saturday as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. Both Durant and Irving are expected to play.
The Brooklyn Nets are likely to return to winning ways in their match against the Denver Nuggets, as they are better-rested than the Nuggets, who just played against the Jazz.
Brooklyn Nets vs Denver Nuggets combined starting 5
Point Guard - Kyrie Irving | Shooting Guard - Joe Harris | Small Forward - Kevin Durant | Power Forward - Michael Porter | Center - Nikola Jokic
The 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets have not had an easy regular season, as injuries and other personal reasons have kept their 'Big Three' players off the court quite often.
Kyrie Irving has missed a few games due to personal reasons but has played well for the Brooklyn Nets overall. He has the most appearances among the players in the Nets' Big Three (50). Irving is averaging 27.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, with 50/39/92 shooting splits.
Joe Harris is another essential player for the Brooklyn Nets. He is having an extraordinary season and is taking advantage of all the talent around him. Harris has appeared in every game for the Brooklyn Nets this year and is averaging 14.2 points per game while shooting 50.7% from the field, 47.8% from three (league-leader) and 77.4% from the free-throw line.
Kevin Durant's comeback from his Achilles injury has largely been a success. The two-time Finals MVP has struggled with injuries throughout the year. He has played only 30 games this year but has looked good on the court.
Durant is averaging his customary 28 points per game, with 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this year while posting 53.8/46.7/87.9 shooting splits.
The Denver Nuggets' Michael Porter has become an essential player for his team in only his second NBA season. He has shown tremendous growth throughout the campaign, and his role was enhanced after Jamal Murray suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Porter is averaging 19.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the 2020-21 NBA season. He has also posted over 24 points per game since Murray picked up an injury.
NBA MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic has also been in impressive form for the Denver Nuggets, and the team's recent position in the West's Top 4 could enhance his chances of winning the award.
The Denver Nuggets' center has put up 26.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game this season. He has played in each of the Denver Nuggets' games this year (67).
Jokic also leads the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating and is the Denver Nuggets' leader in Defensive Box Plus/Minus too.
Also read: 5 most disappointing players from the 2020-21 NBA season
