The Nuggets are currently third from the bottom in the Western Conference, 15 wins behind the Lakers, who are eighth in the West.

Their chances of advancing to the playoffs are very slim, or like the Chinese national football team most of the time, only theoretically possible.

However, they didn't blatantly tank like the Timberwolves and 76ers.

Apart from trading Arron Afflalo and JaVale McGee, their core lineup is still largely intact.

The Pelicans just won against the Cavaliers and their morale is high, so they have a good chance of winning this game.

That night, the New Orleans arena reached 70% capacity.

Despite the opponent's weak strength, the Pelicans' excellent record has set a high lower limit for the arena's attendance.

In addition to the Godfather and Davis signs that could be seen in the past, there were also my.boy signs.

Although McGee's strength is not considered strong in the league, he is quite famous because of Shaqtin' a Fool.

Although this is not a good kind of fame.

After the opening ceremony and a simple warm-up, the game started immediately, and the starting players from both sides took the court one after another.

The Nuggets value Will Barton very much. With Afflalo traded away, the coaching staff directly used him as the starting shooting guard.

In addition to him, because Mozgov was traded to the Cavaliers, Nurkic also became the Nuggets' starting center.

The other positions are the same as the last time they played, still Lawson, Wilson Chandler, and "Manimal" Faried.

Whiteside won the jump ball against Faried, officially opening the curtain of the game.

Tang Tian was double-teamed at the start, and he passed the ball to Davis, who jumped for a mid-range shot on the baseline.

The ball was a little off and bounced off the rim.

But at this moment, after Whiteside and Nurkic wrestled, he desperately grabbed the offensive rebound and directly dunked the score.

After dunking the ball, he made a signature "strong" celebration.

It can be seen that he is a little excited tonight.

Jokic's injury has weakened the Pelicans' strength. The only good news is probably that Whiteside has no psychological burden and has recovered to or even exceeded his previous level.

In the Nuggets' offense, Lawson broke through and passed to Nurkic under the basket, whose close-range shot was directly blocked out of bounds by Whiteside.

Whiteside shouted after the block, looking really excited.

His excitement is not without reason.

The last time the two teams played against each other was in early December, when Jokic ushered in his regular season debut, and the opponent was the Nuggets, and the player he was facing was Nurkic.

15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, this is Jokic's debut data, which is quite eye-catching.

Now that Nurkic is starting and facing Whiteside, he will definitely be holding back, proving that he can do the same to the opponent that Jokic can beat.

The two teams were deadlocked for more than five minutes, and the Pelicans began to take the initiative on the court.

After all, Nurkic is still a rookie, and Whiteside is going all out, so it is difficult for him to perform, and the Pelicans have obvious advantages in overall strength.

After the third quarter, the Pelicans were already leading the Nuggets by 90 to 65, a lead of 25 points, and the last quarter became a complete garbage time.

Whiteside had 10 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocks and 2 steals in three quarters, a very eye-catching performance.

Before the end of the third quarter, Williams was resting his chin on the sidelines, lost in thought.

Jokic can't play, and Whiteside plays so well. He has realized that the two cannot coexist. If Whiteside renews his contract next season, then the coaching staff will face a big problem.

In the garbage time of the last quarter, both sides sent bench players to play.

On the Nuggets side, Eric Green and Thomas Robinson, who were at the end of the bench, got playing opportunities.

On the Pelicans side, McGee and Sheved were also replaced.

When McGee walked to the sidelines, there was a burst of cheers from the audience.

The game has reached garbage time, and at this time, only McGee's playing can attract their attention.

And it's for the whole quarter.

The Nuggets attacked first, and Sheved broke through himself but didn't score.

McGee did not touch the ball in this offense.

The fans on the sidelines stirred.

Bench players rarely have the opportunity to play, so they will definitely focus on playing by themselves.

In the Nuggets' offense, Robinson took the ball and forced his way under the basket against McGee, turning around for a hook shot.

McGee seized the opportunity and directly gave Robinson a big block.

The ball was directly blocked out of bounds.

The cheers from the audience erupted in an instant.

This block was solid and very spectacular.

From Whiteside in the starting lineup to Biyombo on the bench, to McGee who just arrived, these three are all players with strong blocking skills.

The Pelicans are very polite now, and they invite people to eat hot pot every night.

The Nuggets' outside offense, Green broke through and threw the ball.

"Clang!"

The ball slammed high against the back rim.

However, McGee under the basket was a little distracted at this time and did not go to collect the rebound immediately.

Robinson seized the opportunity and grabbed the offensive rebound.

McGee came back to his senses at this time.

Robinson didn't believe in evil, and this time he wanted to dunk after a strong confrontation with McGee.

However, he underestimated McGee's confrontation a bit. With this confrontation, the ball he originally wanted to dunk directly turned into a reluctant shot.

"Bang!"

The ball was blocked out of bounds again.

The cheers from the fans on the scene couldn't be stopped.

This is the second block McGee has sent in one possession!

His talent is really not bad.

Fans on the sidelines holding up "my.boy" signs shook the signs in their hands vigorously.

The Pelicans finally defended this ball. When it came to the offensive end, Dinwiddie controlled the ball and saw McGee cutting in from the free throw line, so he threw the ball directly into the air above the basket.

McGee jumped up and slammed the ball into the basket with his right hand.

"Boom!"

The ball was slammed into the basket.

One minute on the court, two big blocks and an alley-oop, Robinson on the opposite side and McGee were completely mismatched, and he was completely suppressed on both offense and defense.

The fans on the scene cheered non-stop.

But some fans were also wondering, with McGee's competitive state, how could he be reduced to being ignored and unable to play?

But soon, they knew the answer.

In one of the Pelicans' offenses, the Nuggets defended very well.

With little time left for the offense, Dinwiddie found an opportunity to pass the ball to McGee under the basket.

Robinson behind him was trying his best to defend. McGee didn't get up the first time. He leaned against Robinson and prepared to pass the ball out again.

"Time! Time!"

Dinwiddie reminded him loudly not far away.

McGee didn't seem to hear, or thought Dinwiddie was asking for the ball, and directly passed the ball back to Dinwiddie.

Dinwiddie didn't even have time to shoot when he received the ball. The red light on the sidelines lit up, and the Pelicans committed a 24-second offensive violation.

There was a burst of laughter from the audience.

Williams couldn't help shaking his head when he saw this on the sidelines.

The Pelicans players also covered their faces and smiled wryly, with an expression of utter despair.

The happiest person at this time was probably O'Neal. McGee's operation just now provided him with new material for the next issue of Shaqtin' a Fool.

ps: Ah! It's another energetic day, please vote for monthly tickets!