On paper, things look just fine in Colorado. Mike Malone and his Denver Nuggets are 21-9 and sit in second place in the Western Conference standings, just two games behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the loss column.

They also had a seven-game winning streak going until it was snapped by the New Orleans Pelicans on Christmas.

However, in spite of how good the Nuggets have looked recently, Malone is not entirely happy with his team's performance of late.

“We can still play so much better,” said Mike Malone, according to Katy Winge of Altitude TV. “And that’s the scary thing about it. I think we can be scary good because with the record we have, I don’t even think we’re playing that great.”

To be fair, Malone was speaking more in a positive sense, basically saying that the Nuggets have a very high ceiling that they have not even hit yet.

And in a way, he is right.

Up until recently, Nikola Jokic — he Nuggets' clear No. 1 option — had been struggling mightily. Despite that, however, Denver was still finding ways to win games.

In addition, Jamal Murray has been laboring with his shot all season, and against the Pelicans, he missed eight of his 10 field-goal attempts.

Regardless, the Nuggets are near the top of the West, which is what many expected going into this year after they became one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises during the 2018-19 campaign.

The Nuggets will look to get back to their winning ways on Saturday night when they host the Memphis Grizzlies.