Major NBA podcasts already in "panic mode" over Nuggets' early start

We’re barely one week into the NBA season and the national media has already turned on the Denver Nuggets. There was skepticism throughout the offseason, but most people figured with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and others in tow, they’d at least be able to figure things out.

But so far, things look worse than anyone could have imagined and the warning signs have been extremely alarming. Jokic has had to put together monumental performances just to eke out two overtime wins over the Raptors and Nets.

It has been disappointing for Nuggets fans to watch and the scary part is that there’s no real reason to expect improvement. It’s not like the team is waiting for injured players to return or they’re getting adjusted to a new system. 

Sure, they can play better, and there is hope for internal improvement, but for the most part, what you see is what you get. They have to figure it out on the fly.

Podcasts ripping Nuggets apart after early season play

Well, it hasn’t taken long for the national media to pick up on the team’s issues and the mainstream NBA podcasts have been all over the Nuggets already. The Bill Simmons Podcast lit into Denver and Simmons said that was the team he was most concerned about.

The Mismatch Podcast has had multiple episodes stating their concern for the team, lamenting that the Nuggets are wasting Jokic’s prime and that the team should be in full-on panic mode. Yahoo’s The Big Number Podcast also had an episode about panic in Denver and the hosts predicted that the Nuggets won’t even make the playoffs this season.

October and November are the times for overreaction theater and that’s a lot of what’s going on here. But it’s still alarming to hear all of this discourse surrounding a 2-2 Denver Nuggets team that has the leader in the clubhouse for another MVP award.

The Nuggets are the team of the moment for everyone’s panic meter and the team that people are pressing the panic button on. It’s crazy to think they won a title just two seasons ago with a very similar roster. 

For NBA standards, the team has a lot of continuity, the same veteran coach, and all of the core players are still in their prime. It should never have gotten this bad this fast. But just four games in, the Nuggets need to make major changes.