NBA on Sky Sports: In-form Denver Nuggets to meet evolving Brooklyn Nets in prime time clash | NBA News

The Brooklyn Nets and the Denver Nuggets will face off in this Sunday’s prime time slot, live on Sky Sports Arena from 7:30pm. The circumstances surrounding both teams couldn’t be more contrasting.

While the rest of the teams in the West jostle for seedings, Michael Malone’s Nuggets have been comfortably sitting at the top of the pack.

The return of Jamal Murray and a fit again Michael Porter Jr have gone a long way in contributing to that. Add an in-form Aaron Gordon and MVP-leading Nikola Jokic to the mix, and you’re cooking. Eight wins in their last 10 league games have certainly proved that.

Meanwhile, the narrative in Brooklyn isn’t so rosy. With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant moving onto pastures new, the Nets have been forced to reinvent their attack. The man emerging from the dust is Mikal Bridges.

Once a forgotten cog of the Phoenix Suns’ machine, the 27-year-old is showcasing exactly what his team needs to do to keep their position in the standings.

As the first player in NBA history to have 25 points per game on 50-40-90 splits in the first 10 games with a new team, he’s averaged over 30 PPG in his last four games.

The most memorable stint was a 38-point masterclass over the Boston Celtics as Bridges helped his team overcome a 28-point deficit to hand Joe Mazzulla’s side back-to-back overtime defeats.

Should Bridges continue to tear up opposing defences up and down the league as he has displayed throughout March, the Nets’ confidence will only grow.

In this transformative phase, they’ll need to find a way to sustain their good spells. Although contending with one of the league’s best teams might seem like an ominous start, there are ways to hoodwink this Nuggets side.

You only have to look at their 98-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. The Bulls, who are currently languishing just outside the play-in places in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, were able to upset Jokic and co with a harrowing 36-point third-quarter performance.

Not only did they put a spanner in their opponents’ impeccable 30-4 home record, they also contained the reigning MVP to just 18 points.

Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine then hit the Nuggets on the other end of the court, explosively combining for 54, and perhaps laying out the blueprint for the Nets ahead of this Sunday’s game.

It’s clear that although the Nuggets have the eighth-best defensive record in the league, it isn’t exactly a tight ship at the back. If they are to progress deep into the playoffs, they’ll need a steelier backcourt presence.

What does that mean for this weekend? Well, they should be able to edge a narrow victory. But if they think it’ll be easy, or that Bridges won’t be devastating if they allow him to, they’re setting themselves up for another loss.