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OK, we've lost a few games - is it time to panic? Abandon all hope? Make major change(s)?

Personally, I'm still not sold on Malone as a head coach - but I believe he has shown some improvement. Enough? Not in my opinion, but ...

Offense just needs more cutting/movement - but I'm not an expert.

Defense still needs a lot of work - doesn't take an expert to see that. Our early success not withstanding, we are not an elite defensive team.

We have the talent; but young players still make mistakes even after a couple of years. I'm not a fan of making any trades right now.

So, should I give up on this season? Not in my opinion; I'm going to stick with my original prediction that we could finish somewhere between 3rd & 7th in the west (but I am leaning more towards the bottom of that prediction now). We are once again losing games we should win and having trouble holding leads and so on.

Where do you stand? What's our biggest problem? Personally, I could vote for any of the poll options but based on our team/talent - more motion on offense is the biggest deal for me. Sure, we need to work on a lot of things, but for our team to succeed, we need to out-score everyone.

Making the playoffs this season is a goal and i think that the Nuggets can achieve that.

4 straight losses is concern but i don't think that is time to panic and to give up on the season.

We got young guys and they still have to learn how to win games and when they lose to know how to take it and approach the next one.

KeithCozart wrote:Making the playoffs this season is a goal and i think that the Nuggets can achieve that.

4 straight losses is concern but i don't think that is time to panic and to give up on the season.

We got young guys and they still have to learn how to win games and when they lose to know how to take it and approach the next one.

And we’re not at full strength right now, panicking would be foolish. Now if we lose to ATL...

We are the 2nd youngest team in the league, we are going to be inconsistent. We are short a starter, one of only 2 veterans that started the season in the rotation. We are short the man they expected to be our backup PG and 6th man. Realistically we are going to be inconsistent regardless of who the coach is running the team. That is a fact.

We still need a starting SF we can also use Barton off the bench, but I figured this team would be a 52-53 win team and as bad as the last 4 games have went I think we are still going to get there.

The way I see it, the Nuggets are not a playoff contender without the services of IT and MPJ. This team is not bad with a healthy Barton but expectations should be tempered imo. The real season starts with a healthy MPJ especially.

13th Man wrote:The way I see it, the Nuggets are not a playoff contender without the services of IT and MPJ. This team is not bad with a healthy Barton but expectations should be tempered imo. The real season starts with a healthy MPJ especially.

Not a playoff contender? The NBA experts across the board seem to think the Nuggets are a playoff team.

NuggetsWY wrote:

13th Man wrote:The way I see it, the Nuggets are not a playoff contender without the services of IT and MPJ. This team is not bad with a healthy Barton but expectations should be tempered imo. The real season starts with a healthy MPJ especially.

Not a playoff contender? The NBA experts across the board seem to think the Nuggets are a playoff team.

You're right I went too far. I can see them being a 6th to 8th seed. The Nuggets were playing really well with Barton and his injury messed up the dynamics.

13th Man wrote:

NuggetsWY wrote:

13th Man wrote:The way I see it, the Nuggets are not a playoff contender without the services of IT and MPJ. This team is not bad with a healthy Barton but expectations should be tempered imo. The real season starts with a healthy MPJ especially.

Not a playoff contender? The NBA experts across the board seem to think the Nuggets are a playoff team.

You're right I went too far. I can see them being a 6th to 8th seed. The Nuggets were playing really well with Barton and his injury messed up the dynamics.

I think you are underestimating this team. Right now we are the 3rd seed and we're playing w/o our starting SF. We also have 3 other superior players out with injury (although not sure you'll see either of our rookies this year), all this and we are still one of the youngest teams in the league. While some more tested teams like the Rockets are reviving, I'd be surprised if they drop below the 5th seed. While the Rockets beat us (a bad matchup for the Nuggets), we also have had wins over GSW and BOS this year and contested the Bucks game in a strong effort.

skywalker33 wrote:

13th Man wrote:

NuggetsWY wrote: Not a playoff contender? The NBA experts across the board seem to think the Nuggets are a playoff team.

You're right I went too far. I can see them being a 6th to 8th seed. The Nuggets were playing really well with Barton and his injury messed up the dynamics.

I think you are underestimating this team. Right now we are the 3rd seed and we're playing w/o our starting SF. We also have 3 other superior players out with injury (although not sure you'll see either of our rookies this year), all this and we are still one of the youngest teams in the league. While some more tested teams like the Rockets are reviving, I'd be surprised if they drop below the 5th seed. While the Rockets beat us (a bad matchup for the Nuggets), we also have had wins over GSW and BOS this year and contested the Bucks game in a strong effort.

Ok...I hope that you're right. I'll come clean to say that I've only started following the Nuggets closely since I have Jokic on my fantasy team and will pick up Barton off waivers very soon I'm also a Canadian so it's easy to root for Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles.

That being said, I'm also one of those with the mindset that if you're not contending for a title, you may as well try to build for the future. So as an armchair fair-weather fan, It wouldn't bother me if the Nuggets fell out of the playoff picture to try to set the stage for next year when everybody is healthy. I'm very bullish on MPJ so I'm mainly waiting for him to get on the court!

You guys are right though, it is insulting to insinuate that the Nuggets are not playoff contenders, my bad.

Welcome to the Nuggets' board and I hope you keep posting. We call each other out, now & then and with your willingness to deal with having gone a little overboard, you'll fit right in.

Opinions here vary and that's a good thing. Some here are very high on Lyles, some not so much but mostly everyone will agree he's a fairly good player. The debate is on how far he can go: starting PF? Serious bench player? Can he play center? Can he play SF?

Murray's my favorite Nugget and opinions on him vary even more so than on Lyles, probably because of his intense attitude and his skills/style of play. IMO he fits fantastically next to Jokic and the Nuggets don't really need him to play a pure PG. The debates go on and on regarding his position/future/whatever. Only a very few doubt his abilities.

So Canadian fans are welcome. Besides, I have relatives in Moosejaw, so I have to be careful just in case one of them is on here or they might call me out.

13th Man wrote:

skywalker33 wrote:
I think you are underestimating this team. Right now we are the 3rd seed and we're playing w/o our starting SF. We also have 3 other superior players out with injury (although not sure you'll see either of our rookies this year), all this and we are still one of the youngest teams in the league. While some more tested teams like the Rockets are reviving, I'd be surprised if they drop below the 5th seed. While the Rockets beat us (a bad matchup for the Nuggets), we also have had wins over GSW and BOS this year and contested the Bucks game in a strong effort.

Ok...I hope that you're right. I'll come clean to say that I've only started following the Nuggets closely since I have Jokic on my fantasy team and will pick up Barton off waivers very soon I'm also a Canadian so it's easy to root for Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles.

That being said, I'm also one of those with the mindset that if you're not contending for a title, you may as well try to build for the future. So as an armchair fair-weather fan, It wouldn't bother me if the Nuggets fell out of the playoff picture to try to set the stage for next year when everybody is healthy. I'm very bullish on MPJ so I'm mainly waiting for him to get on the court!

You guys are right though, it is insulting to insinuate that the Nuggets are not playoff contenders, my bad.

I will try to go easy on you since you admit that you just started following the team, but the Nuggets are building for the future.

Maybe you don’t realize it, but we have the youngest roster in the league right now even with Millsap. That’s right for all the hype the young guys with the 76ers, Lakers, Celtics, and other teams get, we are younger and it is not all that close. The 2 next closest are the Trailblazers and Bulls who’s oldest players are just 30 years old. Go with the 7 youngest teams (which includes the Lakers, Suns, Pacers, and Kings) the only teams that come close to playing as many young guys as many minutes as the Nuggets are the Suns, Bulls, and Lakers (and they are not all that close). The Lakers have Lebron and their veterans and still play their guys less, and look at the records for the Suns and the Bulls. The Nuggets are younger, play their young guys more, and are still considerably better than teams that are comparable.

Now that you realize how young this team is, here is another thing to consider. We salary dumped 3 guys last summer and currently have 4 guys who have played a combined 2 games for us this season, yet we got better. We have Jokic who is a budding superstar, both Harris and Murray have all star potential, Juancho and Lyles both have shown a ton of untapped potential and look like they have a ton of room to grow. Beasley looks like he can be a very good SG as well. MPJ has the chance to be a superstar if he can get back to what he was in High School, Morris as basically (played 3 whole minutes last year) a rookie is putting up incredible games for a backup PG, Vanderbilt was a 15th rated freshman coming out of high school and could be the perfect long term fit at PF. We literally had to give away picks and players just a couple of months ago to clear room for our young guys to start playing minutes, and as a team got better. Think about that for a little while.

We don’t need more picks, in fact the last thing we need is more youth to develop this year or next, we need experience and time. We need to learn how to get through adversity and how to win tough games. We are built for the future, now it is time to develop them. The amazing part is with a team this young, that is still struggling to find time for all the young talent, many are considering us locks for the playoffs. In a couple of years this team as currently constructed has a chance to be contenders, but most have no clue.

https://herosports.com/nba/oldest-youngest-teams-start-2018-19-season-byby

Thanks for taking it easy guys and taking the time to explain the Nuggets situation so eloquently

Looks like the Nuggets are in a pretty good place, I didn't realize how young this team is; young yet mature on the court.

I have watched most of the Nuggets games this year; they were running on all cylinders with a healthy Barton, just imagine the strength and depth with a healthy MPJ and IT as well, wow. The engine started to sputter a bit due to Barton's injury, I suppose they could have inserted Lyles into the starting rotation but needed him coming off the bench so understandable. Yep, Monte Morris has been impressive for such a young player and Beasley has filled his role nicely as well. So this team is definitely fun to watch and I'll try to slowly get acquainted with them rather than rush to judgement as I did earlier.

As an aside, I'm also a fan of the Clippers (SGA, Harrell) and the Hawks (Trae, Lin, Collins). I follow certain teams for the players, not so much for the cities. The Nuggets have the most potential of any non high-profile teams imo.

I also agree with NuggetsWY that Murray belongs with the starting rotation, it was weird seeing him come off the bench yesterday (due to disciplinary reasons); nothing against Morris but a contending team needs a big time PG which I believe Murray can be capable of becoming. Jokic is at his best when passing the ball off to good finishers hence why Barton has been missed.

Thank you for the warm welcome. Cheers.

The Rebel wrote:

Spoiler:

13th Man wrote:

skywalker33 wrote:
I think you are underestimating this team. Right now we are the 3rd seed and we're playing w/o our starting SF. We also have 3 other superior players out with injury (although not sure you'll see either of our rookies this year), all this and we are still one of the youngest teams in the league. While some more tested teams like the Rockets are reviving, I'd be surprised if they drop below the 5th seed. While the Rockets beat us (a bad matchup for the Nuggets), we also have had wins over GSW and BOS this year and contested the Bucks game in a strong effort.

Ok...I hope that you're right. I'll come clean to say that I've only started following the Nuggets closely since I have Jokic on my fantasy team and will pick up Barton off waivers very soon I'm also a Canadian so it's easy to root for Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles.

That being said, I'm also one of those with the mindset that if you're not contending for a title, you may as well try to build for the future. So as an armchair fair-weather fan, It wouldn't bother me if the Nuggets fell out of the playoff picture to try to set the stage for next year when everybody is healthy. I'm very bullish on MPJ so I'm mainly waiting for him to get on the court!

You guys are right though, it is insulting to insinuate that the Nuggets are not playoff contenders, my bad.

I will try to go easy on you since you admit that you just started following the team, but the Nuggets are building for the future.

Maybe you don’t realize it, but we have the youngest roster in the league right now even with Millsap. That’s right for all the hype the young guys with the 76ers, Lakers, Celtics, and other teams get, we are younger and it is not all that close. The 2 next closest are the Trailblazers and Bulls who’s oldest players are just 30 years old. Go with the 7 youngest teams (which includes the Lakers, Suns, Pacers, and Kings) the only teams that come close to playing as many young guys as many minutes as the Nuggets are the Suns, Bulls, and Lakers (and they are not all that close). The Lakers have Lebron and their veterans and still play their guys less, and look at the records for the Suns and the Bulls. The Nuggets are younger, play their young guys more, and are still considerably better than teams that are comparable.

Now that you realize how young this team is, here is another thing to consider. We salary dumped 3 guys last summer and currently have 4 guys who have played a combined 2 games for us this season, yet we got better. We have Jokic who is a budding superstar, both Harris and Murray have all star potential, Juancho and Lyles both have shown a ton of untapped potential and look like they have a ton of room to grow. Beasley looks like he can be a very good SG as well. MPJ has the chance to be a superstar if he can get back to what he was in High School, Morris as basically (played 3 whole minutes last year) a rookie is putting up incredible games for a backup PG, Vanderbilt was a 15th rated freshman coming out of high school and could be the perfect long term fit at PF. We literally had to give away picks and players just a couple of months ago to clear room for our young guys to start playing minutes, and as a team got better. Think about that for a little while.

We don’t need more picks, in fact the last thing we need is more youth to develop this year or next, we need experience and time. We need to learn how to get through adversity and how to win tough games. We are built for the future, now it is time to develop them. The amazing part is with a team this young, that is still struggling to find time for all the young talent, many are considering us locks for the playoffs. In a couple of years this team as currently constructed has a chance to be contenders, but most have no clue.

https://herosports.com/nba/oldest-youngest-teams-start-2018-19-season-byby

Great write-up you old Rebel! Thanks!

NuggetsWY wrote:Great write-up you old Rebel! Thanks!

Yes, that was a great post thanks again!