The Nuggets have a hole that can only be filled by 1 person

Coming off their biggest win of the season, The Denver Nuggets had the chance to continue to maintain their hold on the two seed in the West, and make a statement against the team that snatched their soul in last year’s playoffs. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

The Nuggets didn’t just lose to Minnesota. They got bullied.

The Nuggets lacked urgency, grit, and toughness in a 115-95 blowout loss.

Minnesota is a bad matchup for Denver as is, let alone when Denver isn’t fully healthy. But in case it wasn’t obvious enough, Wednesday night’s embarrassing showing made one thing crystal clear: The Nuggets aren’t going anywhere this season without a healthy Aaron Gordon.

Gordon’s Irreplaceable Value

The Nuggets obviously can’t win an NBA title without their franchise cornerstones of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The same applies for Aaron Gordon.

Gordon’s impact on Denver’s team goes far behind his season averages of 13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. Gordon is the anchor of the Nuggets defense, and his versatility and toughness is one of the biggest reasons the Nuggets won the title in 2023. Gordon has been tasked with guarding players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Karl Anthony Towns in Denver’s previous playoff runs, and has consistently shown up against the league’s best. 

On Wednesday night, Denver missed that defense big time.

While Anthony Edwards led the way for the T-Wolves with 29 points and a barrage of three pointers, the player who may have killed Denver the most was actually Julius Randle. 

Randle, whom a healthy Gordon would normally be tasked with guarding, only needed 12 shots to get his 25 points. Randle continually found ways to get to the rim with ease, and the 6’9, 250 pounder used every ounce of his strength to play bully ball against smaller defenders, and drive downhill into an overmatched Nikola Jokic.

When Randle checked back into the game with 2:36 left in the third quarter, the Nuggets were down 14. By the 9:19 mark in the 4th, the lead had gone up to 21. Randle scored nine of Minnesota’s points during that stretch. Randle’s performance in Gordon’s absence tells you everything you need to know about how invaluable he is for a defense that has already struggled all season (ranked 21st in the league in defensive net rating). 

The Nuggets also missed Gordon’s offense. Minnesota is hard enough to score on without Russell Westbrook’s presence clogging everything up, and it also didn’t help that Denver shot an abysmal 7-30 from three. Denver certainly could’ve used some of Gordon’s three point shooting, as his improved stroke from deep (44.3% on the year) has been one of the best stories of Denver’s season.

Disappointing Depth

Unfortunately, Denver doesn’t yet have anyone on their bench with the ability replicate Gordon's all around impact. I thought Wednesday was an amazing opportunity for Zeke Nnaji and Peyton Watson to continue to step up in Gordon’s absence, especially after their brilliant play in Sunday’s win over OKC.

Unfortunately, they each had combined 0 points on 0-5 shooting, and neither was able to significantly impact the game.

Return to health

It’s unclear when Gordon is slated to return as he continues dealing with calf-tightness. While the Nuggets need every game they can to beat out the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers for the 2 seed, I hope the Nuggets exercise caution and bring him back when he’s ready. 

Despite Denver’s struggles against Minnesota, I still believe they can beat anybody in a seven game series when healthy, regardless of how the seeding plays out. But if the Nuggets want to return to the promised land, an injured Aaron Gordon is not an option.