Final thoughts

– The learning curve of the season will be real. Russell Westbrook doesn’t really know how to play Jokic Ball, nor is he familiar with his new bench mates. It will take time to learn these things. Christian Braun is getting used to playing with the starters very well, but probably has it easier than Peyton Watson, who is now known as a non-shooter and plays with a few other non-shooters and has to figure out distances and rebounds. Dario Saric was unable to defend or rebound in the first two games, continuing a years-long trend for Denver’s backup center, and Julian Strawther committed five fouls in 16 minutes before being benched despite a good performance and several throws had to. The Nuggets need to clean up this execution, and soon – the pieces may be unfamiliar, but they need gel soon before it costs Denver too many games.

– Denver’s starters need to care more. The Nuggets fell behind by 18 in the first half, and it wasn’t entirely the bench’s fault. Regardless of whether shots were falling, Denver’s starters didn’t play with a rush or push for rebounds. They were outrebounded by the Clippers 44-37, and while that’s partly due to the absolute rocks they put up, the Nuggets didn’t give themselves any assist chances (only 5 assists in the first half) or them in some way made game easier for yourself. They fought back hard in the final minutes of the first half and most of the second half, but their lack of conditioning showed as they gave up nearly 40 points to a Clippers team playing on high. They simply couldn’t or wouldn’t make the rushing plays and couldn’t get Powell to give up the ball.

The starter motors are the engine that makes the whole thing run. Some nights Michael Porter Jr. will go 0-for-6 from three games, but then the style of play needs to become more decisive, not more cautious. Denver neither shot confidently (except for Jokic) nor drove or rebounded. Jokic and Braun both showed up in this game, but the rest of the starters weren’t as committed as they needed to be. Coach Michael Malone talked about conditioning at the end of the preseason and Denver has stepped on the gas in both games so far, which is inexcusable on their home court.

The Nuggets need to play like they did in the third quarter all game long, with the desperate effort needed to consistently win games. The Nuggets have so far played as if these games were not serious, and so they suffered two defeats at the beginning of the season that could have been remedied with simple effort, even if the efficiency was not there at the moment. Malone always says he shouldn’t have to exert himself, and I agree with him – whatever else happened in this game, sleepwalking through half the game and gassing out at the end because the conditioning isn’t there is reflected in The mentality of a team does not yet show the necessary toughness to strive for a championship. We hope they figure it out soon, because skipping these home games is an incredibly bad way to start the year.