As the Nuggets were slicing apart Detroit’s defense in the first quarter, cutting and rolling and scoring a season-high tying 44 points, it was impossible not to consider the implications of Thursday’s trade deadline.
Were the Nuggets, as battered as they were entering Sunday’s matinee against the Pistons, really about to reel off three stunning wins in a grand total of 64 hours? How would the front office feel about disrupting a team whose depth was its biggest asset heading into the season?
With no Jamal Murray (10 games and counting), Paul Millsap (14 games and counting), Mason Plumlee (seven games and counting) and now Michael Porter Jr.