The Nuggets’ season is still brand new, but they are already setting a new standard, as they became the first team in league history to score 120+ points and shoot 50% or better from the field in all four games to start a season.
Denver lost on opening night to the Warriors in overtime, but their offense certainly wasn’t the issue as they put up 131 points with Nikola Jokic recording a triple-double and Aaron Gordon dropping 50 points on 10 threes.
But since then, the Nuggets have won three straight games, each with an offensive outburst. On Wednesday night, the team put up their best performance to date, destroying the hapless Pelicans, 122-88.
Jokic put up another triple-double, his fourth straight, and the starters were able to rest for most of the fourth quarter as the Nuggets built the lead up to 41 at one point. The competition will certainly get stiffer, but it’s great to see Denver playing this complete of a game so early in the season.
Nuggets can still get much better
The scary part for the rest of the league is that the Nuggets are still gelling and learning to play together. New players like Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown are still just getting their feet wet and trying to find a rhythm.
Christian Braun and Peyton Watson are adjusting to slightly different rules and attempting to take leaps in their individual games. The lineups and rotations are still a work in progress and David Adelman and his staff are getting in a groove.
The defense is the main area that needs improvement, but the offense has been so incredible that they’ve created a huge margin for error. The offesne will even see some refinement, but it’s beyond encouraging that they’ve already clicked to this level.
We knew the Nuggets would be good, especially on offense, but their ceiling may be even higher than anticipated. They likely won’t be able to keep up this ridiculous, historic pace all season, but at the same time, nothing about their play has been fluky.
There’s reason to believe this will mostly sustain, and there’s still plenty of room for improvement. As the season goes on and these players grow more comfortable with each other, the sky is truly the limit.