Denver Nuggets: Are they contenders yet?

There is already a lot of speculation surrounding the Denver Nuggets and how good they really are this season.

The Denver Nuggets are off to their best start since the infamous 2009-10 campaign.

You know, the same campaign which saw the Denver “Thuggets,” go all the way to the Western Conference Finals led by Chauncey Billups, a prime Carmelo Anthony and a nice supporting cast consisting of enforcers such as Kenyon Martin, Nene, Chris Andersen and J.R. Smith.

We all know how the story ended for them. A loss to the Kobe Bryant led Lakers in the Western Conference Finals after a ferociously fought six games.

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What about this current Nuggets squad though? Are they in for the same fate? Are they actually contenders? Or, are they simply an early season flash in the pan who is going to come back down to Earth and be a middle tier playoff team?

Here is the true answer. It is too early to tell. The Nuggets have only played five games so far and despite only losing one, they have already hit some adversity.

Their starting wing, Will Barton, is going to be sidelined for five to eight weeks with a core injury. Not to mention, their offense has not been up to par with last season’s offensive juggernaut.

Per teamrankings.com, Denver is ranked 10th so far in offensive efficiency. Top 10 still, so it is not that much of a big deal right? Not so fast.

Last year, offense was this team’s calling card as they ranked fifth in offensive efficiency. That means they have dropped five spots down since last year which is a bit concerning. The saving grace though is that there is plenty of season left to play.

How the young core deals with this adversity is going to have a lot to do with their potential success. They could easily cave in and underachieve, but that will not happen. The real question is just how much success they can attain while working out these kinks?

We will know more as the season goes and the answer will become clearer and clearer. As a result, it will answer the original question. Are these Denver Nuggets really contenders not just in the West, but maybe for a title?

As I said already, it is still much too early to tell in this young NBA season. We will soon find out how much this young core has grown up.