Author: Jonathan Peter

The Denver Nuggets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks tonight by a final score of 120-109. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for Milwaukee, totaling 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists in 30 minutes. He was also incredibly efficient, shooting 10/13 from the field. Guard Jrue Holiday was a game-high +28 in the plus/minus. It’s a shame we did not get to watch a Jokic/Giannis matchup tonight.

Despite putting forth a solid effort, Denver’s poor shooting performance was a major reason for the loss. The Nuggets shot 43% from the field, while the Bucks shot 63% from the field. Denver lost the rebound battle 31 to 44 as well. Denver did improve in turnovers by only committing 7, but they still surrendered 24 points off turnover to the Bucks.

JaMychal Green has played his way out of the rotation. He continued to struggle as he shot 1/8 from the field and only played 16 minutes. Green was averaging just over 26 minutes in the three games where he was inserted into the starting lineup in place of Nikola Jokic. Zeke Nnaji and Vlatko Cancar got some run tonight, each playing 15 minutes.

A takeaway from tonight is that Nnaji and Cancar deserve to get minutes over JaMychal Green for the foreseeable future. Green has been shooting a poor 21.4% from three and has lacked to establish himself in the paint. Even though Nnaji and Cancar have had limited opportunities, both posses a greater threat from the interior and perimeter compared to Green. There is a need for Green on this team and he is a positive veteran presence, but he continues to be a thorn in the side for this Nuggets team when he is on the court.

Even though he was a -17 in the plus/minus, Facundo Campazzo continued to be a positive force off the Nuggets bench, scoring 16 points. In certain moments, Campazzo truly kept Denver in the game. His aggressiveness and driving to the basket when shots are not falling for the team and himself, keeps Denver alive when things look bleak. He did have three turnovers, but it’s because he’s the catalyst for the offense when the starters are resting.

The past four games have proven how valuable Nikola Jokic is to this team. For instance, Will Barton, Monte Morris, and Aaron Gordon have been shouldering the load the team during the last four games. Tonight, the workload seemed to be too much to handle. They combined for 19/44 from the field, while Barton played 39 minutes, Gordon played 37 minutes, and Morris played 32 minutes. This is unsustainable and these key players need to be preserved. It is only game 19.

The Nuggets have now lost six games in a row and they are 9th place in the Western Conference. It is fair for Nuggets Nation to be gloomy, especially since a losing streak similar to this has not been experienced in years. Yet, it is still not time to give up on this team.

There is still plenty of season left ahead of this team. Rotations and lineups are going to be figured out, players are going to get healthy, and there are potential moves to be made. As the Nuggets head on a seven-game road trip, starting Monday against the Miami Heat, there could many positive takeaways soon.

Tonight, the Denver Nuggets went into the Moda Center and lost to the Portland Trailblazers by a final score of 119-100. Portland was bolstered by guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, who combined for 57 points on 22/32 shooting. McCollum was +28 in the plus/minus, while Lillard was a +13.

The stat which encapsulates tonight’s game was the 17 turnovers Denver committed. Not only did this lead to easy buckets for the Blazers, but the Nuggets cannot afford to have this many lapses, especially when they are shorthanded. Also, it did not help Portland had an efficient night in this aspect of the game, only having 9 turnovers, with 2 turnovers coming in garbage time. Prior to tonight, Denver has averaged 13.8* turnovers per game.

One bright spot for the Nuggets, was the return of Zeke Nnaji to the rotation. Nnaji, coming off an ankle sprain which sidelined him for a few nights, played 15 minutes while scoring 8 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. Nnaji was also a -3 in the plus/minus. It has been a small sample size, but Nnaji’s impact can be a promising takeaway from tonight’s loss for Denver. During the beginning stretch of the season, the Nuggets bench has lacked play of an athletic, rim-running big man and Nnaji can fill that role. Nnaji can also stretch the floor and he proved that tonight shooting 2/4 from the perimeter. Let’s all hope he continues to be a big piece of the Nuggets bench.

A couple of other notes from tonight’s loss was a great game for Jeff Green. He scored 24 points while shooting 56% from the field and tacked on 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Unfortunately the injury bug continued tonight after PJ Dozier left fell awkwardly on his left knee. He exited the game in the 1st quarter and did not return. Hopefully, the injury is not as bad as it appeared and the Nuggets will not lose another player on this already decimated roster.

Denver takes on the reigning NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night at Ball Arena. With Nikola Jokic potentially returning from his sprained right wrist, the Nuggets could steer the ship in the right direction with a win and give fans another reason to be thankful after the holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving and I am thankful for the Denver Nuggets. I hope you have a great time with your friends, family, and amazing food. Or however you choose to spend it 🙂

*I initially said Denver averaged 12.3 turnovers/game. I was way off.*

The Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 12 games as they cruised to any easy victory over the undermanned Denver Nuggets on Sunday Night. The Nuggets were without starters Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr., along with Zeke Nnaji. Rookie Bones Hyland left the game after playing two minutes because he turned right ankle. Tonight’s game deserves no analysis. The final score of 126-97 sums the game up.

After the ugly loss, the dark cloud continued to hang over Nuggets Nation, with a report from Mike Singer, the Denver Nuggets beat reporter for the Denver Post. The report entailed that Michael Porter Jr. is dealing with a severe nerve issue in his lower back which may require surgery, and as result, could end his season. Here is a link for the story: https://www.denverpost.com/2021/11/21/nuggets-michael-porter-jr-nerve-injury-back-surgery/

Baring improvement over the next few days, Denver could be without their newly extended max-contract sharp shooter for at least the rest of the year. A huge blow to a team who is already down Jamal Murray. But, it is not time to throw the towel in the season just yet.

Denver continues to have strong production from role players Monte Morris, Aaron Gordon, and Will Barton. They also have the best player in the league. With Jamal Murray hopeful to return sometime in 2022, Denver could still be poised to make a deep playoff run.

This would require a myriad of problems to improve for the Nuggets. They need everyone to get healthy and stay healthy as the season progresses. Second, they need improvement from their second unit, which is starting to happen in spurts, but is not consistent. Lastly, they need to be a top-five defense, which is possible with a healthy Jokic.

The Nuggets have all of the elements of championship team and they have overcome adverse moments in the past. There is no reason to doubt them now.

The Chicago Bulls came into town and defeated the Denver Nuggets, without reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, by a final score of 114-108. The Bulls were led by their star guard Zach LaVine, who had 36 points, along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He was a +9 in the box score plus/minus.

Impressively, Denver was able to limit the Bulls team, who prior to tonight shot 37.5% from the three-point line, to just 25.8% tonight. The Nuggets had consistent breakdowns on defense, which gave Chicago plenty of wide open looks from three, but they just didn’t knock them down.

There appeared to be many breakdowns on defense for the Nuggets tonight. All of the Bulls wings were driving to the hoop with ease and no one was there to stop them from throwing down dunks. When Denver doubled on pick and rolls, there were wide open Bulls players open for easy buckets around the rim. Denver’s missed rotations and other lapses on defense could point to Jokic’s absence, who Coach Michael Malone calls, “the anchor of (Denver’s) defense.”

Offensively, Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, and Facundo Campazzo off the bench shined brightly tonight. Even in a loss, Barton was a +4 in the plus/minus, with 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Gordon shot a ridiculous 83.3% from the field , scoring 28 points, pulling down 9 boards, and dishing out 4 assists. He was aggressive tonight, capitalizing on his mismatches in the post and driving to the hoop effectively.

Facu Campado has been the brunt of many fans and analysts’ complaints for the woes of the Nuggets bench unit. Tonight, he silenced the slander for at least one night. He scored 16 points off the bench, while knocking down 80% of his threes. Without his contributions, the Nuggets bench would have only scored 17 points, which is still an improvement over the previous matchup against the 76ers.

Jeff and JyMychal Green continued to struggle. Jeff had a team worse -9 in the plus/minus, with a team high 4 turnovers. JyMychal shot 1/6 from the field and had another one of his patented illegal screens. He was a +1 in the plus/minus if that means anything.

A critical area where Denver felt Jokic’s absence was on the boards. Chicago had 50 rebounds compared to Denver’s 38. The alarming number was the Bulls pulling down 17 offensive rebounds. Denver couldn’t afford this tonight, especially when they were missing three starters.

On a quick side note, there have been talks about Demar Derozan being an MVP candidate with his body of work this season. Derozan did score 26 points, but he shot 7/21 from the field and was -4 in the plus/minus. It’s a bit fishy, but he had 12 free throw attempts, with 8 of those attemps coming in the last 1:15 of game time.

A valiant effort for Denver tonight despite a loss. They play the red-hot Phoenix Suns Sunday night, who are on an 11-game winning streak.

Tonight, the Denver Nuggets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-89. Despite strong contributions from Nikola Jokic (30 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists +/- -1) and Will Barton (19 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, +/- -3), the rest of the Nuggets team failed to show up tonight.

Aaron Gordon and Monte Morris, struggled to score, shooting a combined 9/26 from the field, accounting for a total of 20 points. Jeff Green, did his best Tony Snell impression by playing 23 minutes and amassing a singular rebound. Yet, this is not the worst performance from the Nuggets loss.

Denver’s bench unit has been seriously struggling over the course of the season. Tonight was no different. Including garbage time minutes, Denver’s rotation consisted 8 players who scored a total of 20 points. They shot 6/32 from the field as whole and 3/19 from the three-point line. An abysmal performance on night when the starters were in need of a boost to give them a chance to win this game. PJ Dozier was the worst Nugget tonight, with a similar stat line to Jeff Green. He scored 0 points, had 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, and was a -24 in the plus/minus during his 16 minutes of action.

Despite defense being one of the Nuggets’ strong attributes this season, Denver struggled there as well. Philadelphia shot 50.6% from the field, which is above their season average at 46.7%. Denver usually holds opponents to 44.9% from the field. Denver had no answer for guards Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry. They did damage to the Nuggets, shooting a combined 17/32.

Denver continues to have the same issues plaguing them in all of their losses this season. Regardless of how great Jokic is every night, his teammates have to improve their play. Poor defense should not be a result of shots not falling on the offensive end.

Denver is on a back-to-back at Ball Arena, facing an athletic and tough Chicago Bulls team tomorrow night. Chicago is currently the second best shooting team in the league, both from three and midrange. Let’s see if the Joker and crew bring better energy against a challenging opponent.