The up-and-down Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets have flipped between dominance and disaster throughout this season. They will need to develop some consistency before April to make some noise in the playoffs.
On Nov. 11, the Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic 125-107 for their third straight win. In the subsequent seven games, they have alternated between blowout wins and blowout losses.
The Nuggets overall about as average as a team can be. They have been outscored by their opponents by just three points overall this season, allowing 2,129 points and scoring 2,126. While that would indicate a decidedly middle-of-the-pack team, the Nuggets have vacillated between good and bad games in truly staggering fashion.
Although the Nuggets did lose a stabilizing force in Paul Millsap, their inconsistency issues go well beyond their defensive anchor. The team is currently 11-9 and sixth in the Western Conference. However, they have looked like a potential playoff threat and a lottery threat depending on the night. If they want to make noise in the postseason, they will have to build on their successes rather than letting them fall apart in the next game.
Offense: The driving force
With Paul Millsap out until at least February, the Denver Nuggets will have to find a way to maintain their frequently excellent offense. The team has some games where it looks unstoppable on that end of the floor and other nights when it looks confused and completely out of rhythm.
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On Nov. 17, the Nuggets ran roughshod over the New Orleans Pelicans in a 146-114 win. They allowed the Pelicans to shoot 52.7 percent from the floor, and it just did not matter. Every Nuggets starter scored in double figures, led by Jamal Murray with 31 points. They lost their next game by 18 points to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Games like the win over the Pelicans make little sense in the context of their more brutal losses. On Tuesday, the Nuggets lost in embarrassing fashion with a 106-77 defeat at the hands of the Rudy Gobert-less Utah Jazz.
Only one Denver starter shot better than 40 percent from the floor–Nikola Jokic at 42.9 percent. The team scored just 28 points after halftime, including a dismal 11-point fourth quarter. The Nuggets could be forgiven for a poor offensive outing if they were facing Gobert; without him in the picture, the loss is rather tough to swallow.
Future outlook
Given that the Denver Nuggets are still clearly in the playoff picture — their record is three games better than the current ninth seed–the team should be able to survive if they can stay above .500 until Paul Millsap returns.
However, Utah is currently in the eighth seed and will have Rudy Gobert back long before Paul Millsap returns to the court. Below them sit the Oklahoma City Thunder, who still have the seventh-best Net Rating in the league despite their late-game woes.
Next: 2017-18 Week 7 NBA Power Rankings
The Denver Nuggets have the ceiling of a top-four seed in the Western Conference. However, their inability to build on their wins may leave them struggling to find their way into the postseason picture.