The two sides will meet at the Lion Foundation Arena tonight with the Hawks expected to rack up a comfortable victory.
The Nuggets have just two wins from 14 matches and are on course for their fourth consecutive wooden spoon.
The Hawks are in the middle of the pack with a 7-5 record.
But two of their losses have come against the league-leading Waikato Pistons and, with some easier matches coming up, they should secure a play-off spot.
Not that Dennis believes it is that cut and dry. The 2004 coach of the year is not taking any team for granted, including the Nuggets.
"The Nuggets showed last week against the [Waikato] Pistons that, if you give them a sniff, they can get the job done and I'm sure they'll be fired up to do a good job against us here," he said.
"If you look at the ladder you can say, 'Yeah, they are games you should win'. But I know only too well that it never works that way."
The Nuggets have relied heavily on the production of its American imports, Lemar Gayle and Antoine Tisby.
But Dennis said if the Hawks went into the match focusing on restricting Gayle and Tisby, others would step up.
"Brent Charleton has proven himself to be a good player in the league and I think Shaun Tilby is underrated.
"The thing I love about the Nuggets is they play their hearts out. Any team that plays like that has to be respected.
"Their [The Nuggets'] big issue is getting players to go down there. They probably need to commit to a coach who has some respect around the league, and I think Don Sims is heading that way.
"If you look at the Hawk, eight years ago we were in second division. Basically, we had a five-year plan to move up into the top four and we've achieved that in the last four years.
"You've got to be prepared to commit for five or six years because it is not going to happen in one or two years."
The Nuggets have had three different coaches in four years and the roster has had an extensive overhaul, with just three players returning from 2007.
While the franchise has significant recruiting and financial hurdles to overcome, the instability has proven ruinous with the Nuggets winning just nine of their 68 NBL matches since 2005.
Tonight, one of the keys for the Hawks is to rebound well, Dennis said.
His team has had no trouble piling on the points, especially with classy point guard Paul Henare running the floor.
But the Hawks have struggled, at times, on the boards.
The Nuggets have done a good job battling for rebounds and, since signing Tisby partway through the season, have a player they can go to for points in the paint.
The problem has been knocking down shots from the outside.
Gayle is one of the competition's leading points-scorers but he is more comfortable slashing to the basket. And Charleton has had only modest success from beyond the arch.
The Nuggets have made one change from the side which played the Pistons. Forward Tim Coudret replaces Mitch McRae.
