Denver Nuggets
Current Record: 3-4
Standings: 5th in Division, 10th in Conference
The Denver Nuggets were slotted by many as an almost sure-fire playoff team. They were in the eighth spot in the West for much of last season and only just missed the postseason due to a bit of a collapse on their part, but mostly because of an incredible surge by the Portland Trail Blazers. They boasted a prolific offense and had several seemingly rising stars in the likes of Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray.
Then they went and added Paul Millsap, who appeared to be an exceptional fit for the Nuggets, especially in the frontcourt alongside Jokic. However, although it is still an extremely small sample size, so far the Nugs have looked less than impressive. They have yet to log a meaningful win as their three victories have come against the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, and they’ve lost to the likes of the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks.
Their other two losses were more palatable as they were topped by our very own Utah Jazz in the season opener, then lost a hard-fought bout to a solid Washington Wizards team. Nevertheless, the Nuggets have looked much more woeful than remarkable thus far. Both their offensive and defensive ratings are in the bottom half of the NBA and they’ve struggled to get anything going.
So far Paul Millsap has had a hard time fitting in with the Nuggets as he’s averaging just 14.1 points per game (his lowest mark since the 2009-10 season) on 41.6 percent shooting from the field (a career low) and a forgettable 31.6 percent shooting from deep. He’s an exceptional player and I think he’ll adapt, but up to this point it’s been far from good for him.
Nikola Jokic meanwhile is putting up good numbers, but I often question his commitment and hustle on defense. Last of all, the biggest worry I’ve had about Denver that I voiced all summer is their backcourt, and thus far they’ve legitimized my concerns.
I mean...this is inexcusable defense by Jokic. pic.twitter.com/LLcqsjXNxh
— AQ (@Abdiqalis) October 19, 2017
Gary Harris has looked good, but both Jamal Murray and Emmanuel Mudiay have struggled to make a positive impact as they’re both shooting under 40 percent from the field and Murray is shooting under 20 percent from deep on nearly five attempts per game.
The Nuggets were able to stay in games last year because of an incredible offense, but if their offense is middling, they simply don’t have the defense to stay afloat. I question the coaching aptitudes of Mike Malone and quite frankly, I’ve been disappointed with the Nuggets up to this point.
As I’ve stated, it’s early and they could very well still right the ship, but based on what I’ve seen out of them so far and especially considering how well the Memphis Grizzlies and LA Clippers have looked thus far, I’m going to go back on an earlier prediction about the Nuggets and now pin them outside of the playoffs come season’s end.
There’s still a lot of basketball to be played, though, so we’ll see if I’m singing a different tune at the month’s end.