The Denver Nuggets have been one of the most competitive teams in the Western Conference so far in the 2024-25 regular season. However, one former NBA champion believes the Nikola Jokic-led team will face serious difficulties competing when it comes to crunch time.
“We need to stop putting the Denver Nuggets in the conversation of being legit title contenders,” Kendrick Perkins surprisingly said during a conversation on ESPN’s NBA Countdown. The former center made it clear that he is not confident in the team’s chances, despite their current position as third in the Western Conference standings.
“It’s two sides of a coin,” Perkins later added. “We always lean toward the offensive side of things, but defensively? They’re trash!” Kendrick made it clear that he isn’t getting carried away by the impressive performances of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and other stars like Russell Westbrook.
“Defensively they’re trash,” repeated the 2008 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics. To back up his opinion, he reviewed some statistics from this season: “They’re 19th in the league overall. 25th in the league at rim protection.”
Perkins believes the Nuggets will suffer in the Playoffs
Continuing his explanation, Kendrick Perkins recalled the Denver team that captured the NBA title in 2023. “When I look at the Denver Nuggets, I look at when they made their championship run and won the title,” he said, implying that they don’t have the same defensive solidity this season (even though that year they were ranked 15th defensively).
Finally, Perkins raised concerns about how the Nuggets will match up against some of the most dangerous teams in the league. “What kind of gameplan, if you don’t have the personnel, can you actually put together to stop Luka Doncic and LeBron James?” Perkins asked. “You just have to have the better overall team.”
Denver’s performance
As Kendrick Perkins put it, the Denver Nuggets have a glaring imbalance between their offensive and defensive strengths. They currently rank third in the NBA in offensive rating, behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Much of this success can be attributed to the impressive numbers of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray: the Serbian center is fifth in the league in points per game, with 27.4, while Murray is averaging a career-high 21.5.
In contrast, their defensive rating places them 20th in the league this season. For example, they rank 14th in defensive rebounding percentage. However, the most alarming statistic is their points allowed: Denver is among the worst teams in the league, ranked 24th, with an average of 116.8 points conceded per game.