Jan. 21, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Denver Nuggets power forward Al Harrington (7) complains after a call is made during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

It has been a trying season for the Denver Nuggets, full of injuries, lineup changes and brutally long road trips. The season has had its highlights and lowlights, but with only 15 games left Denver holds a 27-24 record and is currently on the outside looking in on the playoff race.

While it is easy to fault injuries, in-season lineup changes and the coach for the Nuggets lack of success, but the bigger question is this team even talented enough to be a playoff team? It doesn’t have a superstar like Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant or even LeBron James to depend on and their all-around talent level may not be at the playoff level – at least not yet.

Denver does have the size, speed and depth to cause havoc with most teams. However, youth, defensive struggles, the lack of a low-post threat, as well as shooters will continue to be their shortcomings.

Youth 

Not many playoff teams have a rookie in their starting lineups and it would be tough to find a team in the postseason featuring a starting lineup with the oldest player barely 26 years old. But that is where the Nuggets are, and like most young players they will wow you one day and have you scratching your head the next.

Perimeter defense

It’s a little baffling on why Denver struggles on the perimeter defensively. There are some that think it is George Karl’s flawed defense, but somewhere along the line the players have to be held responsible. In Wednesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors, Andre Miller and Ty Lawson each fell asleep on Jose Manuel Calderon when the ball went in to the paint and both times Calderon was able to get open for a 3-pointer.

Arron Afflalo, who used to be the Nuggets’ defensive stopper, struggled to stay with DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan would work off picks, drive to the basket and attack the offensive glass and by the fourth quarter Afflalo’s frustration was very vivid.

Kenneth Faried continues to go through his rookie struggles and chalk Andrea Bargnani as another veteran big man that had his way with Faried. But it wasn’t just Faried though, Bargnani took advantage of JaVale McGee and Wilson Chandler too. None of Denver’s defenders were aggressive with Bargnani. They let the Raptors’ big man pick and choose his spot and than they would fall for Bargnani’s patent pump fakes.

Lack of a low-post scorer

Quick question, when was the last time a Nuggets’ player drew a double-team? It has been a while, partly because none of Denver’s big men aren’t skilled enough offensively to draw a pair of defenders and the rest of the team is too perimeter oriented. Needless to say, even if the Nuggets make the playoffs they won’t be able to make it far if a team forces Denver into a half-court offense. If this team can’t get out and run it will not be successful.

Lack of shooters

With Rudy Fernandez and Danilo Gallinari both injured, the Nuggets don’t really have any skilled shooters. Afflalo and Lawson are more of set shooters, who work off of their teammates. Wilson Chandler and Corey Brewer are too inconsistent to depend on as 3-point threats. Al Harrington may be only player in the rotation who can stretch the floor, but once again his shot is inconsistent. If Denver’s shooters can’t keep defenders honest, they will see a lot of zones.

So how does a team that held the Bulls to only 91 points give up 105 points to the Raptors? The answer is easy, a young squad that lacks leadership and isn’t used to playing together. For all of the Nuggets talent, they lack experience and don’t have great leaders on the squad. This will continue to be their shortcomings this season, at least until a player steps up and makes each player responsible. Denver’s bigs are prone to biting on pump fakes and the Nuggets’ perimeter defenders still struggle with rotations. So who will step into the voided leadership role?

• Al Harrington is one of the team’s veterans and may be the most vocal player for the Nuggets. However, that hasn’t been his forte over his career.  He is more known for his offensive spark off the bench.
• Arron Afflalo is supposed to be the team’s captain. But he isn’t a strong leader and for all of his improvements on the offensive side of the ball his play on defense has fallen off to a point where he is no longer considered the team’s defensive stopper. On Wednesday, Afflalo did his best Carmelo Anthony impression missing 11 of 16 shots and drawing a technical foul after forcing a shot in the paint.
• Ty Lawson is the team’s MVP, but he leads more by example and isn’t vocal enough to make his teammates listen.
• The same can be said about Andre Miller, who is another veteran on the team and leads by example. However, you can’t fault a player playing with a separated shoulder.

To their credit, this is the first year that many of them have been thrust into the leadership role. Lawson (24 years old) and Afflalo (26) have been role players before being thrown into bigger roles this season. However, for the Nuggets to be in the playoffs, or even make a playoff run, they need to show the same mentality against lesser opponents that they had against the Bulls.

Andrea Bargnani was just another big man that took advantage of Kenneth Faried’s defensive struggles on the perimeter. Bargnani opened the game with a three-point play and scored the Raptors first seven points. Bargnani didn’t do anything special, outside of hitting open jumpers and getting defenders in the air. Bargnani drew three fouls on each of Faried and JaVale McGee and made 10 of 12 free throws and scored 26 points. As a team the Raptors made 12 of 22 from behind the arc.

With the loss to the Raptors, Denver has once again fallen to ninth in the Western Conference. The Nuggets have six home games and nine road games.