The Denver Nuggets entered the 2019-20 NBA campaign as kind of a sleeper team in the Western Conference.
Everyone knew they would be good, but because of the presence of the two Los Angeles teams, they were kind of, sort of rendered an afterthought.
But here we are at the All-Star break, and the Nuggets are sitting pretty at 38-17 and in second place in the West.
The funny thing is, Denver has not even played consistently well throughout the season.
Nikola Jokic struggled mightily early on, Gary Harris has been abysmal and Jamal Murray has been his typical up-and-down self, and yet, the Nuggets are still one of the best teams in the league.
But while Jokic has righted the ship and Denver is in a great position, there are some serious questions in the Mile High City over the final couple of months of the season.
The first concern is whether or not the Nuggets have a legitimate third option behind Jokic and Murray.
I'm not even entirely sold on Murray as a No. 2 given his inconsistency and so-so efficiency, but at the very least, he is averaging 18.9 points per game and can go off for 40 at moment's notice.
But after Murray? Denver doesn't really have anyone who can regularly get buckets down the stretch.
Will Barton is the club's third-leading scorer, and while he is certainly a very solid two-way player, I'm not sure he's the guy you want representing our No. 3 option heading into a big playoff series.
Paul Millsap is still good, but he is not even remotely close to the player he was during his Atlanta Hawks days and can no longer be relied upon for big scoring nights on a daily basis.
I already mentioned earlier how bad Harris has been this season, and then you start getting into role players such as Jerami Grant and Monte Morris, who are really good for what they are, but aren't top-flight scoring threats.
Michael Porter Jr. could certainly end up filling this role in another year or two, but he just isn't there yet.
Basically, the Nuggets have a whole lot of balance, which is great, but unlike most of the other top contenders, they don't have numerous players who can easily score 20-plus points on any given night.
It's basically just Jokic and Murray, and you really never know what you are going to get from the latter.
The problem is, I don't see anyone on this roster suddenly stepping up and supplying this need for Denver over the next couple of months. Again, I think Porter will eventually be that guy, but as of right now, the Nuggets are pretty thin at the top.
Another issue the Nuggets face is three-point shooting.
You wouldn't think so, given that Jokic and Millsap can both spread the floor up front and that Murray can light it up at times, but Denver ranks just 16th in the NBA in three-point percentage and 23rd in three-point makes.
In a league where perimeter shooting reigns king, being unable to go blow-for-blow from beyond the arc could end up dooming you in a long playoff series.
I'm not saying the Nuggets don't have shooter, because they do, but the numbers don't lie. Clearly, Denver isn't making triples at a very high rate, nor is it doing so efficiently.
This is nothing new for the Nuggets, either, as they faced similar problems last year when they ranked 19th in three-point percentage and 18th in makes, and it came back to bite them in their second-round playoff loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
In order to topple a Kawhi Leonard-Paul George and/or LeBron James-Anthony Davis duo, Denver is going to have to make perimeter shots. Plain and simple. The Nuggets can't expect to go toe-to-toe with those tandems and expect to come out alive if they aren't converting treys.
Because Denver lacks the elite-level talent of the Clippers and Lakers and doesn't have quite as many options as even the Utah Jazz, the Nuggets will have to compensate in other areas. They will need to find a go-to No. 3 scorer, and they will need to consistently make three-pointers as an equalizer.
Of course, Denver does not really have a No. 3 guy, and it has not been able to knock down threes with any sort of regularity.
Again, I like the Nuggets' balance, and I think in a couple of years when Porter hopefully blossoms, they can be truly dangerous, but right now, in February 2020, it's hard for me to label this club a serious championship contender in a rugged Western Conference that is sure to exploit all of Denver's weaknesses come playoff time.
Follow Us
Subscribe