March brings a change in seasons, and baseball's spring training period is in full bloom. Baseball teams explore the depths of the organization in search of the right roster to put out on the field. That's basically what Rich Paul said about the Nuggets and their season so far. We're just really, really glad that they're not the Rockies. Sorry, Dinger.
It's an equation that can be made after Paul's comments on "Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul." Paul said, "At the end of the day, we’re talking about regular season games," when discussing the recent losses the Nuggets have had against the top teams in both conferences. Basically, just calling the regular season a warmup act for the Nuggets.
Paul wasn't worried about the Nuggets at all, and when asked if they're still a title contender, he answered Kellerman with an emphatic, "Of course, they are!" He issued a final reminder. "The point I’m trying to make is, it’s the regular season."
Paul isn't wrong, and the Nuggets' losses have been close
Yes, it would be great to win all of these games, but as Paul says, the losses haven't started to count towards anyone's vacation tickets yet. And the Nuggets have actually just come out of the toughest part of the schedule in the year with a 3-3 record. Losing to a couple of last-second shots from a couple of MVP candidates.
If Austin Reaves doesn't get a clean bounce on a missed free-throw attempt at the end of regulation, the Nuggets beat the Lakers. Maybe Peyton Watson stops Shai Gilgeous-Alexander better than Spencer Jones did, and the loss in overtime to the Thunder never happens.
At some point, the ball should start bouncing better for the Nuggets. They're leading the league in one-possession games, and unfortunately, they are just 7-11 in those tight games.
And I think that's part of why Paul sees this as only a warm-up for the Nuggets. They do still have the best basketball player in the world, after all. That's an advantage going.
The Joker is back to his usual form
Nikola Jokic is starting to round back into form after a brief hiatus caused by a wrist injury that wasn't bad enough to show up on the injury report, but started to noticeably affect his shooting and ball control.
Over the past four games, Jokic has four triple-doubles, and he's averaging 25.8 points, 15.5 rebounds, and 13 assists. Against the top four teams in the West.
He's also been a defensive juggernaut. The Joker has at least one block per game, and two games of five steals and another with three.
So like Rich Paul says, no need to worry. The Nuggets are just working on timing their curveball.