With their mix of youth and battle tested players, the Denver Nuggets (24-11) are one of the best teams in the league right now, holding wins over both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
They entered Saturday's game against the Washington Wizards as the second seed in the stacked Western Conference and were expected to run through the below .500 squad. However, that was not the case, as they were handed a surprising 128-114 beatdown at the Capital One Arena.
Denver fell behind early and was staring at a 31-19 hole by the end of the first quarter, as they played catch up for the entire 48 minutes. Nuggets starting point guard Jamal Murray, who did his part by pouring in 39 points, was taken aback by his squad's uninspired showing.
He admitted postgame that they took the Wizards way too lightly, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
“I just didn’t think we respected our opponent,” Jamal Murray said. “All this talk about they’re the worst team in the league. Might be the hardest playing team in the league. I’ll put them with Miami, New York plays hard, those teams we’ve got to come out and be ready.”
The Nuggets have won seven of their last 10 matches, but it's quite alarming that the team has been blown out twice in the last three games. They suffered a 26-point loss to the Houston Rockets on New Year's Eve and then the 14-point letdown against the Wizards.
Their defense has been the main culprit, allowing Houston (130 points) and Washington (128) to pretty much score at will. As good as coach Mike Malone's wards have been so far, the Nuggets still need to remain consistent to get through the grueling 82-game schedule.
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