Denver Nuggets vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction & Match Preview - December 19th, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22

The Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets will square off on Sunday at Barclays Center. [Photo: Sporting News]

The Denver Nuggets will continue their East Coast road swing with a stop at Barclays Center for a matchup against the severely decimated Brooklyn Nets. Denver just finished a thorough thrashing of the Atlanta Hawks and will look to do the same against the depleted Nets.

Coach Mike Malone’s team opened their road trip with the dismantling of the Hawks behind an impressive display of ball-sharing. Led by NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets carved the Hawks’ defense with precision passing and crisp execution. They’ll be hard to stop against the Brooklyn Nets’ makeshift roster.

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If not for the seriousness of the situation, the Brooklyn Nets’ virus outbreak borders on almost ridiculous comical. They now have nine players under health and safety protocols, including their Big 3 of James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Irving, who is still ramping up his conditioning, has yet to play a game for the team, will have his road debut moved even further.

Head coach Steve Nash will have another serious headache trying to figure out how to proceed with his improvised rotation. At this point, any contribution from the roster to put up a decent fight would be great news for the Brooklyn Nets.

Match Details

Fixture: Denver Nuggets vs Brooklyn Nets | 2021-22 NBA season

Date & Time: Sunday, December 19th; 7:30 PM ET (Monday, December 20th; 6:00 AM IST)

Venue: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

Denver Nuggets Preview

The Denver Nuggets will face an even more undermanned Brooklyn Nets team on Sunday. [Photo: The Denver Post]

The Denver Nuggets have played above and beyond expectations since the season started. They’ve almost always been the undermanned team fighting through adversity. That situation will greatly change against the Brooklyn Nets, who are now unrecognizable due to the virus outbreak.

The Utah Jazz team’s game plan should be quite simple, and something their whole squad should be used to be now. Share the ball, communicate on defense and let MVP Nikola Jokic do his thing. Even with a complete roster, the Brooklyn Nets will likely find the Serbian superstar a tough matchup.

The Denver Nuggets should use every advantage they can get to grab another win.

Key Player - Nikola Jokic

The reigning MVP is putting up numbers that the NBA has never seen in its illustrious history. And yet Nikola Jokic is still somewhat under-appreciated and has not grabbed the limelight this season. Even without looking at the 26-year old’s unprecedented numbers, the eye test will easily confirm just how valuable he is to the Denver Nuggets.

Nuggets have outscored teams by 13.4 points per 100 possessions with Jokic on the court. They are -15.7 with him off.

That 29.1 difference is by far the biggest in the NBA (Giannis is 2nd with 22.5).

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It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Denver Nuggets fall off a cliff when Nikola Jokic sits down. His impact is so pronounced that the Nuggets transform from one of the best to one of the worst units with Serbian’s playing time.

The Brooklyn Nets’ defense will have a long night trying to contain him.

Denver Nuggets Predicted Lineup

G - Montee Morris | G - Will Barton | F - Jeff Green | F - Aaron Gordon | C - Nikola Jokic

Brooklyn Nets Preview

Except for Blake Griffin, everyone in this photo for the Brooklyn Nets is under health and safety protocols of the NBA. [Photo: MARCA]

The Brooklyn Nets have 12 players on the injury list due to virus protocols and injuries. Had they not been allowed by the NBA to tap into their G-League player reserves, they wouldn't have been able to play matches any time soon. Patty Mills, Blake Griffin and Cam Thomas will have the responsibility of keeping this team afloat.

At this point, showing pride and determination is about the best thing the Brooklyn Nets can hope to achieve against the Denver Nuggets. It’s extremely difficult to coordinate offense and defense on short notice, especially with players who have hardly played a game together.

Key Player - Patty Mills

Patty Mills’ signing alone should make GM Sean Marks a candidate for Executive of the Year. Not only has the Australian veteran played magnificently, but he has also shouldered some of the workload that Kyrie Irving has left behind during his absence.

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The Olympic bronze medalist was supposed to get his rest against the Orlando Magic. But with almost the entire roster on the injury list, the savvy veteran had to lead the Brooklyn Nets. Mills’ professionalism and upbeat demeanor will shine through greatly in the next few weeks as the Nets deal with the virus outbreak.

Brooklyn Nets Predicted Lineup

G - Patty Mills | G - Cam Thomas | F - David Duke Jr. | F - Kessler Edwards | C - Blake Griffin

Nuggets vs Nets Match Prediction

Unless Nikola Jokic is kept on the sidelines for some reason, the Denver Nuggets should roll past the short-handed Brooklyn Nets in this game.

Where to watch the Nuggets vs Nets game

NBA TV will offer national viewing of the game between the Denver Nuggets and Brooklyn Nets. Local coverage of the matchup is available via YES and ALT Networks.