I Am Officially Worried About The Denver Nuggets

The NBA Playoffs are just about one month away, and I have a bad feeling about the Denver Nuggets. This team appeared ready to be considered a perennial contender for years to come after their 2023 championship run and Nikola Jokic, the best player in basketball at the peak of his powers. At the time, Jokic was supported by a strong cast, which included Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray, who appeared on track to become future All-Stars. However, in the two off-seasons following that championship run, Denver lost key role players and has struggled to replace that depth. Meanwhile, neither Murray nor Porter has made significant strides to offset those losses.

While Jokic is still as good as he has ever been, if not better, because of that lack of depth and consistency around him, I am officially worried about this Nuggets team, and I am not sure if we should expect a deep postseason run out of this team this spring.

This team lacks the necessary skills to make a significant impact this spring, particularly as the playoffs draw near. Denver's margin of error feels more narrow than ever in the harsh Western Conference, with teams like the Thunder and Lakers seemingly getting better by the game.

Although Jokic by himself makes it impossible to rule them totally out of the title picture, if you ask, I think this team is more likely to once again go home early in the playoffs than not. 

If the Nuggets do fail to reach the conference finals for the second straight year, it does bring up the question of if major changes could happen in Denver this summer. You can’t waste a generational player like Jokic in his prime. The front office may need to reconsider everything to make sure that his talent doesn't go to waste if this roster is unable to step up and go on another deep run.