The Denver Nuggets have lived up and perhaps exceeded preseason expectations so far despite falling to the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Their 9-2 record is still good enough for 2nd in the West. That being said, the Denver Nuggets will have to give maximum effort every night to stay there.
I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth when the Nuggets dropped one to Memphis. Nikola Jokic inexplicably shot the ball once with one second remaining in the game while handing over 6 turnovers.
I think the turnovers were a product of a good defensive team knowing Jokic was going to pass. Until Jokic is again a threat to score I believe his ability to distribute the ball will continue to suffer.
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I’m not sure if Nikola has lingering hand issues or a mental block, but the Nuggets really can’t be at their best until he again looks to score. Something has changed as he shot the ball 20 times against the Bulls and 18 total in the four games since.
I expect that Jokic will get healthy or get focused whichever he needs and be all-star caliber I hope it’s sooner rather then later.
Jamal Murray understandably couldn’t match his performance from the Celtics game and the starting lineup as a whole struggled to make shots.
Gary Harris was the most efficient of the bunch going 6-16 shooting and 3-6 from three point range. Paul Millsap played a season low 20 minutes due partly to a strong game from Trey Lyles where on several possessions he was the go to guy along with the game’s flow which seemed to dictate Denver’s rotations.
Malik Beasley also played a season low with just 6 minutes. Probably in an effort to keep Torrey Craig on the court for defensive matchups.
So in short Denver never really got to break loose and play Nuggets basketball in the Memphis game and will have to find a way to play their game in the future or risk falling from grace a bit among the NBA’s elite records.
If the defense can stay at it’s stellar pace and the offense can find a way to play on their terms the Nuggets will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the league.