The Nuggets have a bad habit that’s keeping them from being a contender

Denver is among the hottest teams in the NBA, but they showed on Sunday night that their Achilles heel is something to worry about

BY JAMES MERILATT

Apr 5, 2021, 6:22 AM

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The Nuggets entered Sunday night’s game against the Magic as a 16.5-point favorite. At home, Denver was supposed to roll Orlando.

The records suggested it would happen, as the Nuggets were 12 games over .500 entering the game, while the Magic were 15 games under they breakeven point. And recent history said that’s how things would go, as Denver had won four in a row and Orlando had lost its last game by 46 points.

At halftime, however, the game wasn’t going as expected. The Magic were up by 18.

This would be a head-scratching result if it wasn’t par for the course. Across the last three seasons, years in which the Nuggets were a contender in the Western Conference, Denver has repeatedly lost to inferior opponents.

It’s happened this season, with three losses to the Kings and two to the Wizards among bad efforts turned in by Michael Malone’s team. Those are five games that would put the Nuggets near the top of the standings if they’d simple taken care of business.

But they didn’t. And they don’t.

The bad habit continued against Orlando. On the heels of impressive wins over the 76ers and Clippers, two of the top teams in the NBA, Denver came out flat against a bottom feeder.

That’s alarming. Even though they turned it on in the second half to get the win, it’s a concerning pattern.

Teams with championship mettle bury bad opponents. Serious contenders don’t let lottery teams hang around.

Why has this become a habit? That’s open for debate.

Perhaps it’s of Malone. The head coach obviously can’t get the message through to his team that they need to show up to play every night.

Maybe it’s on the stars. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray need to make it clear to their teammates that they want to spend the fourth quarter resting on the bench.

Whoever is to blame isn’t important. Finding a solution is the issue.

The Nuggets have a chance to win the West. As a result, they gave a legit shot of winning the NBA title.

Both would be firsts in franchise history. Neither goal has ever been more attainable.

It’s only going to happen, however, if Denver doesn’t takes care of business. That starts with acting like a contender.

Great teams don’t let the Magic hang around on their home court. The Nuggets showed on Sunday night that they aren’t yet at that level.