We’re only three weeks into the NBA season for the Denver Nuggets, yet it already feels like they’ve been grinding for months. There have been nonstop ups and downs: a Nikola Jokic beef with fans, concerns about Aaron Gordon’s career, Jamal Murray exploding, a Christian Braun heat check, a second-round steal, and much more.
They’ve won in overtime on a big comeback, they’ve gotten blown out at home by a team that looked rudderless, and seemingly every result in between. All told, they’re 5-4 and sitting basically right in the middle of the Western Conference standings. They could be playing better, but they could also be playing worse. And for the most part, they’ve avoided any major injuries.
But it feels worse than that, and a big part has to do with their recent travel issues in Mexico City. After beating the Pacers, the team ran into some airport issues, eventually going back to their hotel around 5 AM and leaving the next day after a sleepless night.
Adelman warned players of physical/mental problems
According to a story by Bennett Durando in the Denver Post, David Adelman texted his core players to see if they still wanted to play later that night in Houston:
“I think you guys need to honestly have a conversation with yourselves and see where you’re at, physically, mentally. … The mental part can lead to a physical problem, and that’s a real thing in the situation we were in.”
Jamal Murray led the charge to play, and the others quickly fell in line, echoing his sentiment about the importance of playing in a big game against the Rockets, given where they stood in the standings. Obviously, the Nuggets went on to play all their guys, but lost in Houston anyway to a good Rockets team.
Fligh delay is no excuse for this level of early-season concern
But this message from Adelman to his team is a bit concerning, especially so early in the season. I know it was a tough travel spot, but by NBA standards, it’s not like Mexico City to Houston is a long trip. The game also wasn’t a back-to-back, so they should have still gotten plenty of rest in between games.
This was also only their ninth game of a season that’s scheduled for 82. There shouldn’t be concerns about mental and physical fatigue already! And if there is, that’s a much bigger problem than one flight delay in Mexico City. I know this isn’t a young team, and this group has logged a lot of wear and tear over the past few years, but they need to make it to the playoffs fresh to have any shot.
And if they can’t even make it through 10 games without that being an issue, I have no idea how they’re possibly expecting to make it until April and then possibly four more series. I understand the weird circumstances, but this feels like a larger issue with this roster. Hopefully, they can turn things around on Wednesday night, but if this is already a concern in early November, you’d have to imagine it’s only going to get worse.
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