The Denver Nuggets have had a rather solid start to their 2023-24 season. They started their season with dominant wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Utah Jazz. Unfortunately, their undefeated start to the season came to an abrupt halt after suffering a bad 110-89 loss against their division rival Minnesota Timberwolves.

Despite the loss, the Nuggets are still properly poised to make a great run in the NBA's inaugural In-Season tournament.

NBA In-Season Tournament, explained

The NBA's In-Season Tournament is a new addition to the league's regular-season schedule. It is a separate tournament that takes place during the middle of the season, offering teams a chance to compete for a championship title and a significant prize pool. The tournament features a knockout-style format, with all 30 NBA teams participating. Teams play designated preliminary games during the regular season, and standings based on win-loss records determine advancement to the knockout stages.

Each NBA team is guaranteed to play four tournament games. Only the top team from each group is able to advance to the knockout stage. So three teams from each conference will then advance to a single-elimination stage, and will then battle it out to become the last team standing.

Nuggets' In-Season Tournament Schedule, Opponents, and Bold Predictions

Game 1: Dallas Mavericks

  • Friday, November 3
  • 8:00 PM MT
  • Ball Arena – Denver, CO

The Nuggets' first opponent could arguably be their most difficult one. The Mavericks are among the few remaining undefeated teams in the NBA, mostly thanks to their superstar Luka Doncic and his hot shooting.

This will undoubtedly be a fun battle to watch between two MVP frontrunners Nikola Jokic and Doncic. The Nuggets do have the deeper team in comparison to the Mavericks, but they will still have to try to limit the damage caused by Doncic as well as Kyrie Irving. Should the Nuggets drastically improve their shooting from their last game (the loss against the Timberwolves), they could pull away with their first win of the In-Season Tournament. It won't be an easy feat, though.

Bold prediction: Nuggets' Jamal Murray posts a dominant 25+ point game.

Game 2: Los Angeles Clippers

  • Tuesday, November 14
  • 8:00 PM MT
  • Ball Arena – Denver, CO

The Clippers have recently consumed most of the NBA headlines with their recent trade for James Harden. Harden joins other stars Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George on the recently vaunted Clippers roster. Harden just recently joined the Clippers and has yet to play a game with them, so it's hard to predict his impact, and how he'll impact the matchup against the Nuggets in mid-November. Regardless, this should be an incredibly fun and star-studded matchup to watch.

The last matchup between the two occurred in the preseason, with each team getting one win against the other.

Bold prediction: Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr becomes a key player with Jokic and Murray being heavily guarded.

Game 3: New Orleans Pelicans

  • Friday, November 17
  • 6:00 PM MT
  • Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, LA

The Pelicans have had a solid start to their season, posting a 4-1 record. CJ McCollum has led the way for the Pelicans, leading the team in points per game with 23.4, and assists per game with 5.6. McCollum isn't the only star on the roster, as the Pelicans also have Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. Williamson and Ingram have been battling injuries to start their season, however.

Again this is another case where the Nuggets have the deeper roster in comparison to their opponent. If they don't play down to their opponent, they should ideally come away with the win here.

Bold prediction: Nuggets' Nikola Jokic records a triple-double.

Game 4: Houston Rockets

  • Friday, November 24
  • 6:00 PM MT
  • Toyota Center – Houston, TX

The Rockets don't have the most star-studded roster in comparison to other rosters in the NBA. That doesn't mean they should be overlooked, though. No opponents should be overlooked for that matter. The Rockets are also off to a bit of a slow start to their season, and only earned their first win of the season on November 1st.

While the Nuggets should obviously not overlook the Rockets, this should definitely be a win for the Nuggets if they put together anything more than a solid performance.

Bold prediction: Nuggets' Nikola Jokic records another triple-double, as well as a 30+ point game.