After only four games in the NBA season, it’s too early to declare the defending champion Denver Nuggets the runaway favorites to retain the crown even if they’re unbeaten and crushing the opposition by an average margin of 14.25 points. However, there are clear signs that despite losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green during the summer, the Nuggets are fierce and formidable.
Check out Denver’s early stats. The Nuggets are No. 1 in field goal percentage, shooting at a 53.8 clip and averaging 30.5 assists. When the team’s top two scorers Nikola Jokic (26.5) and Jamal Murray (20) are combining for over 16 feeds an outing, you know there’s chemistry on the floor because of the unselfishness. Denver’s hitting 116.25 points and giving up 102 a game with the differential an indicator that the Nuggets are playing hard on both ends.
Against Utah yesterday morning (Manila time), Denver wasn’t at its best coming off a game the day before. The Jazz brought down a 17-point deficit to five in the fourth quarter and Denver appeared sluggish down the stretch. The Nuggets’ free throw shooting was atrocious, seven of 17 and the Nuggets had only 13 fastbreak points, the same as Utah. Coach Michael Malone deployed 10 players, including five who logged at least 30 minutes and could’ve deepened his rotation to preserve legs for the final push if he had more trust in his troops.
Jokic, Murray, Zeke Nnaji, Peyton Watson and Christian Braun have never played for a team other than Denver in the NBA and 11 were held over from last season’s championship squad. That kind of togetherness is the foundation of a family rooted in unity. It’s something Malone can count on when the Nuggets play tougher teams down the road.
Jokic, 28, is undoubtedly in a class of his own. In four games so far this campaign, he has notched two triple doubles. Nobody’s laughing when the Joker shows up to play. In Denver’s 20 playoff games en route to the title, Jokic had 10 triple doubles and became the first player ever to lead the entire postseason in points, rebounds and assists. He’s a towering 6-11 behemoth who weighs close to 290 pounds but the heft isn’t an issue that curtails his mobility. Jokic doesn’t elevate like a jumping jack, he doesn’t need to. A few inches off the ground is all he needs to dunk the ball or put up a three. Jokic is shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc so he’s not only dangerous up close but also out deep.
But as the season rolls on, opposing coaches will figure out how to stall Jokic and the Nuggets. Playing a zone will take away easy post-ups for Jokic and force Denver to take more than its current rate of 36 percent of shots from three-point range. Malone’s rotation is tight and over a long season, it could backfire to players suffering injuries. Blocking Jokic’s passing lanes will also reduce his effectivity as a facilitator. Once he’s doubled, Jokic will look for his favorite beneficiary so the defense must recognize whom to deny. Murray is a handful and Aaron Gordon is a brute under the boards. Michael Porter, Jr. is a 41 percent three-point shooter but also has a potent inside game because of his 6-10 frame. Physicality is something Porter shies away from and it’s what opposing teams should bring to crumble his focus. Is Denver unbeatable? A 4-0 record is deceiving at this stage. The oddsmakers are predicting another title for the Nuggets. They could be wrong.