It was just a bit ago when the Denver Nuggets were struggling with sub .500 teams and getting blown out at home.
Now, they’re 7-3 after their first ten games, fresh off of a 5-0 home stand.
Nikola Jokic deserves the most credit, as he often does, with the turnaround. After roughly six quarters of easing himself into the year as a scorer, it’s clear he sensed the team needed him to be more aggressive.
So, he became the best, most imposing scorer in the NBA overnight. Through 10 games, Jokic is averaging 29.7 points per game (4th in NBA) on 66.7% True Shooting. Among the top ten per game scorers in the NBA, that level of efficiency ranks second, merely 0.3% behind Kevin Durant.
Oh, and Jokic leads the entire NBA in assists and rebounds per game on top of that. Pretty good.
Beyond Jokic, Michael Porter’s shooting efficiency (40.8% from three on 7.6 attempts per game) has normalized in a big way. He’s playing with tremendous confidence and deserves a ton of credit.
Christian Braun has evolved into a new player for the Nuggets too. He had his first subpar defensive game on Sunday night, but he’s 9-out-of-10 on “games with positive impact starting minutes” on the year.
Peyton Watson started the year uncomfortable from three-point range and finding his impact throughout the flow of the game. Ever since he took over for the injured Aaron Gordon, he looks like a different player. He’s shooting with confidence, defending with better energy, and clearly more sure of himself.
Finally, Russell Westbrook and Julian Strawther have each had important moments, especially when replacing Jamal Murray. Westbrook can be hit-or-miss on his shooting efficiency, but he always passes the ball well and defends with energy. Strawther is finding his rhythm as an NBA player, but he’s quickly discovering what he can do on both ends of the floor, and it’s helping Denver.
So, 7-3 in their first 10 games? That seems like a win after Denver started as poorly as they did.
Aaron Gordon is still out, and he may miss some extended time still. Jamal Murray is still figuring out just how aggressive or passive he needs to be within this version of the team (and his defense needs some work).
Oh, and the backup center problem for the Nuggets featuring Dario Saric, Zeke Nnaji, and DeAndre Jordan looks more like a roulette wheel with one option: discomfort.
Those are things the Nuggets can try to figure out over time.
For now, the Nuggets have four days off. Then, they fly to New Orleans for the first NBA Cup game of the season.
I’m sure after a historic start, Jokic could use the rest.
