Consistently Inconsistent Nuggets Face Uphill Battle
The Nuggets have the toughest remaining schedule in the league.
Welcome back to another installment of the Your Nuggets Newsletter. We missed you last week due to time constraints and juggling life around due to the new position at Nugglove.com, but we should be back weekly moving forward.
Speaking of back, the Nuggets received news from head coach David Adelman that Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson should return to the lineup soon, possibly by March 5th. Adelman said the team should be put back together “with about 20 games left in the season.” March 5th. Finally, the team could be whole again, for the first time since mid-November.
The news couldn’t have come at a better time for the Nuggets, losers of 6 of their last 9. With Nikola Jokic back in the lineup. The Nuggets have oddly become one of the worst teams in the league in crunch time, losing games routinely that Nuggets fans are used to seeing them win. Collapses in the clutch. 1-5 in the clutch with Jokic back. It’s become an epidemic.
The Nuggets scored 157 in a blowout in Portland
The up and down Nuggets certainly had one heck of an up night against the Blazers last week. The Nuggets won the game 157-103, the 54-point margin of victory the largest in Nuggets franchise history. The Nuggets scored 82 first-half points and outscored the Blazers in every quarter, including garbage time.
It was an inspiring game for Nuggets fans. Finally, the offense we all know and love came out and didn’t miss a beat or many shots. It was cathartic for Nuggets fans, coming off a one-point loss the night before to the Clippers in a total letdown of a game.
Nuggets fans finally had something to really smile about, thinking that this offensive explosion would be the game that would right the ship. But…
The Letdown Continues in the Bay
The Nuggets followed up their historic win in Portland with a come-from-ahead loss, and possibly the worst loss of the season, too. The Nuggets had a five-point lead early in the fourth quarter, only to squander it and get their doors blown off while standing flat-footed watching the depleted Warriors hit nearly every shot in the clutch.
It’s been the theme for the Nuggets this year. Clutch games are going south. Denver’s now just 14-15 in games that are within five points with under five minutes to play. They used to win these games.
2022-23 saw the Nuggets go 22-15 in clutch games; 2023-24, 26-14; 2024-25, 21-16.
So the Nuggets’ recent struggles have been uncomfortable to watch for Nuggets fans. We’ve been spoiled by crunch time heroics in years past. We know they can get it back, and coach Adelman does, too. He’s been on record saying this is something they can work through. Nuggets fans certainly hope so.
It Doesn’t Get Any Easier From Here
The Nuggets’ remaining schedule is a gauntlet. It has been for weeks. The Nuggets have played the top teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, and that road continues starting with the Celtics on the 25th. The schedule only gets tougher with a matchup against the Thunder and then the Timberwolves before finally a ‘breather’ against a Jazz team that is not only tanking, but is also getting stung by the injury bug.
Overall, it makes for a .558 winning percentage of opposing teams, the toughest in the NBA. Six total games against the Thunder and Spurs out of 24 games left.
But with 20 to go, the team could be whole again. And that’s what Nuggets fans have been waiting for. We know this team is good when healthy. We know Aaron Gordon is a defensive stopper who needs to return.
The waiting is nearly over. Months have passed. It’s time to start gearing up for the final stretch and get the team gelled and ready for the playoffs.
Let’s just try to fix the clutch problems before then…..please.
If you enjoyed this post, please like, subscribe, and share. David Decker is the author of the Your Nuggets Newsletter. You can find his other content on his Substack, The Stat Spectrum, and at NuggLove.com, where he is the Site Expert.