The Denver Nuggets aren’t having a very good time in the NBA right now, after entering a bad streak that took them from one of the three best teams in the league to the 8th ranked in the Western Conference.
This isn’t a good situation for them and something needs to change before it’s too late. This squad was expected to be one of the contenders in the West this campaign after reaching the Conference Finals last year but this one, things haven’t gone in their favor.
That is why their two biggest players have been vocal about the situation of the team, urging the rest of the team to make better decisions, to be consistent, and to be hungry to win during the entire game, not through a certain period.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray call out teammates
Serbian big man Nikola Jokic has been on a tear recently, dropping big numbers and becoming one of the best players in the league but that hasn’t been enough to take his team to the top of the conference. After the Nuggets lost to Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night, the Joker had some things to say about Michael Porter Jr, one of the most promising young players in the league.
Talking about a certain play, Jokic said:
“I told him after the game I think it’s just a bad shot. It was not the timing. We kind of had the lead, it was a contested shot. The guy was right there. I think it was just a bad shot in a bad moment. I want to win the game. He wants to win the game…”
Moreover, Jamal Murray took the blame for the loss against Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. but also explaining that the team needs to step up, they need to play well from the start until the end of the game, which has been key for their last four defeats.
“Everywhere. Everywhere. We’re not getting back. We’re not talking enough. We’re just not being good enough. We do it for parts of the game. But we’re not sustaining it for the length that we need to and our offense isn’t keeping up like the way we normally do. It’s a frustrating battle when the game is right there and it’s just like that again. Ten Minutes. One quarter. Five minutes. Just a stretch where we just don’t do nothing. We don’t score. We get bad possessions on offense, and then they just get easy layup, layup, foul, layup, layup, foul, open three. And I’m 4-17, 1-7 from three. Three rebounds. That’s frustrating. Really frustrating. Coach is doing everything he can on the offensive end to get guys good looks. But he can’t get back on defense for us. He can’t shoot the ball for me. So it’s frustrating.”
This isn’t a good moment for the Nuggets; they need to bounce back before it’s too late. Right now, they’re 8th in the West but the Golden State Warriors are following them closely to see if they can steal that last playoffs spot from them.