Last year, the Golden State Warriors lost nine games all season. The Denver Nuggets were one of those nine losses, and on Thursday, they were looking to duplicate that upset.
They didn’t.
The Warriors trounced the Nuggets, beating them by a final score of 125-101.
Yes, nobody likes to be blown out, and with the team now sitting at 3-5, it’s fair to be getting a little worried, but it’s not all bad. Here are three reasons why Nuggets fans need to remain positive:
Rotation Problems
One of the major areas of concern early in the season has surrounded head coach Michael Malone’s rotations. With so many talented young players, it’s difficult to find the minutes to play all of them what they deserve. And the experimentation has hurt consistency.
With the recent run of losses coming in very close games, it’s easy to wonder: Who should be on the court to close games?
On the positive side of things, it’s great for a team to have too many assets, not only for trade pieces — although it’s great to have the assets to make a move — but because it seems as if Denver is dealing with more injuries than normal every single year. Depth is a key to combatting ailments.
The Nuggets are going through that now, and it has actually made it difficult for Malone, as he has not had his full Nuggets team once all season. To start the year, he was missing Gary Harris and Darrell Arthur, both of which play pivotal roles on both sides of the ball. Throw in Will Barton and Wilson Chandler, who have missed the last few games, and it’s been even more difficult.
As these key players get back to full health, I expect Malone to implement them in the lineup and have a better understanding on how the team looks in certain scenarios.
It’s difficult so early on, with multiple important pieces missing, to place all the blame on Malone and his rotations.
