Denver Nuggets Embarrassed by OKC Thunder

Nov 1, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) and guard Randy Foye (4) watch their team from the bench in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

With the exception of a few minutes in the second half when team mounted a short-lived comeback, here are a few words to describe the Denver Nuggets performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder:

Terrible.

Horrible.

Putrid.

Embarrassing.

The Thunder completely dominated the Nuggets, a fact that was even more disappointing when you consider OKC was without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and they only dressed 8 players. 8!!! The Nuggets, a team that is pushing a message of “power in numbers” and is supposed to have one of the deepest benches in the league, remained committed to the 12-man rotation and still couldn’t hang with the Thunder.

If you’re looking for factors that contributed to the loss, take your pick. Wilson Chandler shot 2 of 12 from the field (including 0-5 from deep). Darrell Arthur went 1 for 6. Arron Afflalo was 5 of 11 from the floor. Timofey Mozgov could only manage 2 rebounds. Kenneth Faried, the team’s best player in the season opener, finished the game with just 7 points and 6 rebounds.

The lone bright spot for the Nuggets was the play of point guard Ty Lawson. Lawson bounced back from a terrible game against Detroit to lead the Nuggets with 25 points and 5 assists, although he did commit 7 turnovers. He showed heart throughout the game and was the key to the run the Nuggets made in the second half that made the final score look anything close to respectable. JaVale McGee played 20 minutes and showed flashes of his freakish athleticism that makes him so popular. He had 4 big blocks to go along with 8 points and 4 rebounds.

The Thunder got 23 points from Perry Jones and Serge Ibaka, and Kendrick Perkins contributed 17 points off the bench.

The less said about this game, the better. There’s not much to do but put this one behind us and move onto the next game against Sacramento on Monday. But if Brian Shaw can’t find a way to use this roster to beat a team of role players that only features 8 guys in uniform, Nuggets fans are in for a long season.