The Denver Nuggets are looking for their fourth consecutive win, as they head to Sacramento on Thursday to wrap up a recent stretch of road games that re-established the Nuggets as a true force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference alongside the historically dominant Oklahoma City Thunder. 

While Thursday’s game marks the Nuggets’ fourth consecutive game on the road, the team did get a much-needed three days off back in Denver that couldn’t have come at a better time. The Nuggets have been navigating injuries to Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Julian Strawther, and it was becoming clear that not having them in the rotation was taking a toll on everyone.

“I think just make sure we're all healthy for the most part, make sure we get our guys back,” Hardaway Jr. said. “I'm pretty sure everybody sees that we've been doing a great job of just trying to hold down the fort, but we know how really good and how really special this team can be when we're fully healthy. I'm hoping we get some of our key players back and keep pushing.”

The main reason the Nuggets have been able to manage those injuries so seamlessly is the fact that there hasn’t really been any offensive drop-off for a team that still has the league’s most productive offense. Hardaway explained that a driving force behind that is their athleticism and their ability to create and convert looks from beyond the arc.

“Obviously, the three-point line plays a huge role in today's game,” Hardaway Jr. said. “A lot more threes being shot, a lot more fast breaks. A lot more athletic players, one through five, are out there on the floor pushing the break and getting easy shots."

“It's tougher for defenders, you know, to stay in front, especially when guys now have so much creativity with handling the ball, going out there and knowing how to put the ball in the basket. So I'll say that.”

In terms of whether Hardaway agrees that missing three of the team’s core players has made life any more difficult on the second unit, it’s safe to say he doesn’t. Or at the very least, he is confident in the second unit’s ability to handle any situation. 

“I don't think we're thrown off at all, to be honest with you,” Hardaway Jr. said.”That's what us veterans are here to do and provide. We've been in so many situational games and positions while we've been playing in our careers. We're used to that. We know what it takes. We're trying to do whatever we can to make life easier for our coaching staff and for our teammates.

“So, I don't think we're thrown off, but like I said earlier, it would be great to have our guys all the way healthy and really getting back to how we were in the beginning of the season.”

The Nuggets return to action on Thursday when they face the Sacramento Kings.