Nuggets fans aren't used to this. Not since we've seen Nikola Jokic become the best basketball player on the planet. The Nuggets are losing games they should be winning, games they've won in the past, close games, and it's causing panic amongst fans. Even the Joker hasn't been able to get Denver across the line.
Andrew Schlecht and Alex Speers discussed the Nuggets' recent troubling trend of losing tight games on The Athletic NBA Daily podcast, and they made sure to highlight that the Nuggets have the toughest remaining schedule in the league. too. We know.
And that's part of what's causing the panic. If the Joker isn't able to solve the equation, what's going to happen as we play the Spurs and the Thunder six more times? The Nuggets are just 1-5 in the six clutch games they've played since Jokic returned to the lineup after missing 16 straight with a knee injury.
And another frightening number stands out. In the 19 games the Nuggets have played that qualify for a clutch game with Jokic in the lineup, the Nuggets are just 6-13. By comparison, in the Nuggets' championship season of 2022-23, the Nuggets were 20-9 in such games, and 19-14 last season.
Jokic even had a monster triple-double in the come-from-ahead loss against Golden State. Jokic went for 35 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Plus, the Joker even cut the turnovers down a little relative to some of his recent starts, committing only 5. And yet, the Nuggets still got run over in the final five minutes.
The stats paint a picture, and it's not one fans want to see
In those six clutch games, the Nuggets are shooting just 37.5% from two and 25% from three-point range. in crunch time. Which is a steep drop off from the 49.5% from two and 39.4% from three-point range the Nuggets see for a full game. It's a team epidemic. No one is shooting well in the clutch.
Conversely, the Nuggets seemingly aren't playing any defense and aren't getting pressure on their opponents. Over those same six games, the Nuggets have allowed their opponents to shoot 52.6% from two, while they're shooting 33.3% from three. It's a totally opposite perspective.
Statistically, the Nuggets rank near the bottom of every defensive metric over their last six clutch games, including allowing their opponents the most free throw attempts at 4.8.
What happened to the Nuggets? We obviously used to be able to count on them. They definitely look off. It's time to panic, at least a little. Or do we wait for Aaron Gordon to return first before making our final decision?