After 22 games, the Denver Nuggets are 12-10 on the season. They’ve been just good enough to stay attached to the top teams in the Western Conference...but not quite good enough to be among them.
Denver’s currently seventh in the Western Conference behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, and Los Angeles Clippers.
Interestingly, the Nuggets have a 4-5 record against those teams directly. Only Oklahoma City appears to truly be in “another tier” in the West, but the Nuggets also managed to defeat them early in the season due to the unrelenting exploits of Nikola Jokic.
Denver’s 7-7 against the Western Conference overall, a strong encapsulation of where the Nuggets are as a team. They’re good when they’re good and bad when they’re bad.
It’s a crude way to explain it, but it’s true. When the Nuggets are matching up with the best teams, they have a shot every night because of what Jokic is doing. He puts them in a good spot almost every single night. It’s up to others to hold up and push Denver over the top though, and that aspect of Denver’s season has been...well...50-50.
Jamal Murray’s struggles have been well documented here. He’s missed the last couple games for Denver and hasn’t played in a week while nursing a hamstring injury. He will likely be questionable for Friday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Nuggets could use a scoring explosion from him every now and then. The last time Murray scored 30+ points was in Denver’s Game 7 loss last May.
Michael Porter Jr. has been mostly consistent, even adding some playmaking and improved finishing around the rim. Unfortunately, it’s come at the cost of his free throw percentage as he’s shooting a career low 67% from the free throw line (other than the nine-game injury shortened season).
Aaron Gordon is returning from injuries of his own, and his role is likely about to expand again. The Nuggets backup center position has once again been the weak link of the roster. The only minutes that are ever good for Denver without Jokic on the floor are when Gordon plays the backup five. I expect him to get more run there in the coming weeks.
Christian Braun has been the model of consistency over the first 22 games, with 22 straight double-digit performances despite averaging just 10.1 shots per game.
Beyond the starters, the bench was never expected to be consistently good. Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, and Peyton Watson have all had their moments, and it will be interesting to see how Denver’s bench evolves in the next few weeks, or if it even can evolve.
For now, the Nuggets have several questions to answer. The defense, the depth, Murray, and more.
Fortunately, there are another 60 games to go, and more important, another two months before the NBA trade deadline.
