The Denver Nuggets had already shown one ugly stretch this season, and their collapse against the Golden State Warriors made it look like more than a one-night problem.
Golden State, which came in at 0-3, rolled to a 134-114 win and exposed a Nuggets team that has not looked like the version fans have come to know over the past six years. Denver had rescued itself from a 23-point hole against the New Orleans Pelicans two nights earlier, but that comeback never carried over. Against the Warriors, the energy was missing from the opening tip.
The defensive resistance simply wasn’t there. Stephen Curry, widely considered the best shooter of this generation and maybe ever, went a perfect 8-for-8.
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg then piled up 31 points and 12 rebounds, and the Nuggets had no answer for either performance. The questions were obvious: where was the pressure, where was the edge, where was the fight?
That’s the bigger concern hanging over Denver right now. The team has not only looked flat at times this season, it has looked flat in the same way it did during last season’s disastrous playoff series. In the view laid out here, the Nuggets have lost their mojo, their culture, whatever you want to call it.
The criticism gets sharper when Michael Malone enters the picture. The team’s former head coach was fired just before the start of the 2024-25 playoffs, and the argument here is that the fire he brought with him is gone.
Malone, the piece suggests, would have blasted the team for its lack of effort. Instead, there now seems to be a gap between what fans expect and what the players seem to think fans should accept.
The numbers from the Warriors game only underline the point. Denver was beaten on the boards 45-32, lost the three-point battle 22-11, and turned in another poor defensive night from its starting group. Nikola Jokic finished with an uncharacteristic -16, even with the Nuggets’ four players out of the rotation.
Yes, Denver did rally from 23 down against New Orleans, and that showed the team didn’t quit. But the larger issue remains.
That comeback came after three quarters of uninspired basketball, and the same lifeless stretch was on display again against Golden State. The crowd at Ball Arena was quiet, and according to Aaron Gordon after the Pelicans game, that kind of silence is worse than boos.
It’s only three games into the season, and Denver is 1-2. But unless the Nuggets start showing more life, and soon, the possibility of a rebuild that fans have been hoping to avoid starts looking a lot more real.
In Other News...
Nuggets Just Got A Reminder About The Wolves Without Anthony Edwards
Minnesotas latest injury update is a familiar one for the Nuggets to keep in mind, because Anthony Edwards has already gone through arthroscopic knee surgery and is expected to miss a couple of months. It is a significant blow for a Timberwolves team that leans on Edwards as its engine, but it is not uncharted territory for a group that has shown it can still function without him, including during last springs playoff matchup with Denver.
The Nuggets will also have to remember that Minnesota is not short on ways to survive a star absence. With other pieces capable of taking on more, the Wolves believe they can keep competing while Edwards is out, which makes the schedule ahead worth watching from Denvers side. Their next two meetings come at the end of December, and there is at least a chance the picture looks different by then. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Have An Energy Issue They Can't Ignore
Through the first three games, the Nuggets have looked better at one end of the glass and noticeably shakier at the other. Their offensive rebounding has climbed into the top five early on, a sign the coaching staffs emphasis on crashing the boards is already showing up, but the defensive side has been a different story. Denver is giving away too many extra chances, and that has become an early energy test the team cannot really dismiss.
Nikola Jokics presence usually steadies that area, which is why his quieter start there stands out so much. After leading the league on the glass last season, he has been held to 7 rebounds in both the Thunder and Warriors games, and the Nuggets have felt the difference. It is still a tiny sample, but if Denver is going to clean up this part of its game, it likely starts with Jokic setting a firmer tone on the defensive boards. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Backcourt Rumors Just Got More Interesting Around Jokic And Murray
Denvers uneven opening stretch has already stirred up enough noise around a team that expects to be judged by much loftier standards. After the loss to Golden State and Nikola Jokics pointed remarks aimed at fans who booed, the Nuggets now find themselves dealing with the kind of early-season scrutiny that tends to follow a contender when the rhythm is off and the rotation has questions.
Into that backdrop comes a fresh wrinkle in the backcourt conversation. Jake Fischer reported that Denver is among the teams taking a look at Kevin Porter Jr. as a possible addition, with the idea centered more on giving the second unit another scoring option than on reworking the entire guard picture. It is the sort of rumor that does not change the roster overnight, but it does say plenty about how the Nuggets are probing for help while trying to steady a season that has already produced more friction than they would like. [Read more 🡒]