If it feels like the Denver Nuggets do not look like the Denver Nuggets that fans have normally recognized over the past six years, you're probably right. They don't. They've lost more than just a disaster of a playoff series last season, and that same team that looked apathetic at times then has looked apathetic at times again this season. The Denver Nuggets have lost their mojo, their culture, whatever you want to call it. And if they don't find that dog in them again real soon, the fans truly might stop showing up, Joker.
What a horrid start to the season. The Nuggets should be 0-3 after that flop against the Golden State Warriors, a 134-114 drubbing by a team that was 0-3 coming into the game. The Nuggets bailed themselves out of a 23-point disaster against the New Orleans Pelicans two nights before, but the same energy of that fourth-quarter comeback never reached the floor against the Warriors.
The defensive pressure was lacking from the start. Stephen Curry may be the best shooter of our generation, perhaps ever, but he didn't miss a shot, going a perfect 8-for-8, because the defense was putrid. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg looked like a superstar on his way to 31 points and 12 rebounds. Where was the intensity? Where was the fight?
The Nuggets don't have the fire they once had with Coach Malone
I'll tell ya where it was. It left Ball Arena with former head coach Michael Malone when the Nuggets made the terrible decision to fire him just before the start of the 2024-25 playoffs. And if the team doesn't rekindle that fire soon, the rebuild every fan has been dreading could be right around the corner.
Malone would have ripped into the team for the lack of effort. Perhaps that's what pushed Malone out the door? Were someone's feelings getting hurt by the criticism? There's a disconnect between what the fans expect to see and what the players seem to expect the fans to think about it.
The Nuggets were out-rebounded by the Warriors 45-32, outshot from beyond the arc 22 to 11, and they let a rookie make them look bad. Sure, the Nuggets have four players out of the rotation, but the starting unit led by Nikola Jokic had an uninspiring defensive effort yet again, leading to an uncharacteristic -16 for the three-time MVP.
Sure, the Nuggets stormed back from down 23 against the Pelicans. They didn't quit, and they don't quit. But they looked uninspired for three quarters, and that same spirit bled over against the Warriors. The arena was quiet, the fans weren't loud, and they were almost silent, which is worse than booing, according to Aaron Gordon's comments after the Pelicans game.
It's only three games. But if the 1-2 Nuggets don't start to show some life, and soon, then we may be witnessing a rebuild sooner rather than later.
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