The Nuggets have been playing poor basketball since Nikola Jokic returned from a knee injury, and they're just 9-12 since Feb. 1st. Their record, poor clutch performance, and lack of defense are all reasons Kendrick Perkins thinks the Nuggets are no longer a legitimate threat to win a championship. And Brian Windhorst agreed. That statement is bound to ruffle the feathers of Nuggets fans.
Perk's comments came on "NBA Today" when the pair were discussing concerns for the Nuggets, who just lost a game they needed to win in Memphis to a tanking Grizzlies team.
"I'm gonna say the quiet thing out loud. The Nuggets are not legit title contenders," Perkins said.
It doesn't mean so much coming from Perk, who typically skews against the Nuggets. But Brian Windhorst "can't make a powerful argument against" Perk's statement. It led to a huge grin of content on Perkins' face. But Windy did say he saw the Nuggets show "stretches this season where they've looked like a conference champ."
Oddsmakers still like the Nuggets
Host Jorge Sedano points out that the Nuggets are still the fourth-highest rated team by the oddsmakers to win the championship, and the last time I checked, the oddsmakers built some large casinos that stay open for a reason.
Windy brings up a great point. The Nuggets have shown flashes of greatness. Sure, they have flopped just as much lately, but that doesn't mean they can't figure it out in the runup to the playoffs. 12 games is a decent amount of time, with the team fully healthy except for Peyton Watson, to get back and gel.
It's not like the Nuggets got blown out against the Thunder or the Lakers. They should have won both of those games, but got beaten by last-second shots from two MVP candidates, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The problem has been playing to the level of their opponent, and not crushing the teams they should crush.
If the Nuggets fix the clutch, the sky is the limit
Inability to close games out and lose in the clutch has been the thorn in the Nuggets' side since Nikola Jokic returned to the court after missing 16 games with a knee injury. Since the start of February, the Nuggets have been 4-9 in the clutch, just an awful run from a team that's been more than capable in the clutch in the last few years.
Something's changed, but the Nuggets still have the Joker and Jamal Murray, two fantastic clutch players who are having a poor year in that department. It's not like these two All-Stars forgot what to do.
So there's still hope among some Nuggets fans that they'll right the ship and rub it in Perk's face with a championship in June. But the hope is lost for some other fans. I'd bet a solid 9-3 run to close out the year, into the playoffs strong could get them back on board.