Three weeks into the NBA season, the Nuggets already look like a team that’s been through a lot more than nine games.
Denver has had the full range of early-season chaos: a Nikola Jokic beef with fans, concerns about Aaron Gordon’s career, Jamal Murray exploding, a Christian Braun heat check, a second-round steal, and plenty more. The results have bounced around too.
The Nuggets have pulled out an overtime win after a huge comeback, gotten blown out at home by a team that looked rudderless, and landed just about everywhere in between. At 5-4, they’re sitting in the middle of the Western Conference standings - not great, not disastrous, and mostly healthy.
Still, the vibe around the team feels heavier than the record suggests, and the reason traces back to the travel mess in Mexico City. After beating the Pacers, the Nuggets hit airport problems that sent them back to their hotel around 5 AM before leaving the next day after a sleepless night.
That situation was serious enough that David Adelman reached out to his core players before the team’s game later that night in Houston, according to a story by Bennett Durando in the Denver Post.
“I think you guys need to honestly have a conversation with yourselves and see where you’re at, physically, mentally. … The mental part can lead to a physical problem, and that’s a real thing in the situation we were in.”
Jamal Murray pushed to play, and the rest of the group followed his lead. The Nuggets suited up everyone available and still lost to the Rockets, a good Houston team, anyway.
Even with the odd travel circumstances, this is a troubling message to hear this early in the year. Mexico City to Houston is not exactly a brutal trek by NBA standards, and this wasn’t a back-to-back. There should have been enough time to recover between games.
More than that, this was only the ninth game of an 82-game season. Mental and physical fatigue shouldn’t already be part of the conversation.
If they are, that points to something bigger than one rough night on the road. Denver isn’t a young team, and this core has taken plenty of wear and tear over the last few years, but the whole point is to get to the playoffs fresh enough to matter.
If the Nuggets are already wondering whether they can get through 10 games without fatigue becoming an issue, it’s fair to ask how they’re supposed to hold up through April and then potentially four playoff rounds after that. The circumstances were unusual, but the concern is real. Hopefully Wednesday night brings a better result, because if this is already surfacing in early November, it’s hard not to think it could grow from here.
In Other News...
Nuggets Showed Something Important In Memphis That Fans Needed To See
The Nuggets left Memphis with a win that felt bigger than a routine road result, because it came with the kind of poise and shot-making they have been searching for. Denver controlled the game for long stretches and held off a Grizzlies push in the third quarter, then leaned on Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic to steady things when the pressure tightened.
Murray kept the offense moving even while dealing with foul trouble, and Jokic once again filled every part of the box score as the Nuggets closed out a 123-118 victory. For a team trying to show it can still impose its will away from home, this was the sort of response that matters, even if the larger question is whether they can keep bringing that edge game after game. [Read more 🡒]
Jokics Slump Is Raising A Bigger Nuggets Concern
Nikola Jokic has still been doing plenty of the little things that help Denver win, especially on the defensive end, where his activity has stood out this season. The Nuggets have benefited from his presence in a stronger team defensive setup, and his willingness to get involved more often on that side of the floor has been one of the quieter positives in an otherwise uneven stretch.
The bigger concern is what has happened when the ball is in his hands at the other end. Jokics shooting has dipped from his usual standard, and Denvers offense has not looked as sharp with him on the floor as it has in past seasons. Whether it is a conditioning issue or something physical lingering in the background, the Nuggets are left watching a version of their centerpiece that is still impacting games, just not in the same dominant way they are used to seeing. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Gordons Slow Start Is Testing Denvers Patience
Aaron Gordons slow start has become one of the quieter subplots around Denvers early season, especially because it comes with the kind of patience that usually only exists when a team still believes in the bigger picture. Gordon has said he feels physically good and is more focused on helping the Nuggets win than on how his body feels, which fits the tone around a veteran who knows his value is measured in more than just scoring. Even so, his production has dipped from last season, and the early numbers have not matched the standard he set when he was humming.
For Denver, the important part is what has not happened: there has been no real talk of moving on from him, and the organization appears willing to give him time to find his rhythm. That matters because Gordon remains woven into what the Nuggets want to be, and a rough opening stretch does not change how much they rely on his two-way presence. The question now is how long that patience lasts if the efficiency stays stuck where it is. [Read more 🡒]