The Denver Nuggets have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference, but haven’t reached their desired levels. As things currently stand, the Nuggets are fifth in the West, which would result in no home-court advantage. Of course, they have the talent to make up for that. Unfortunately, they don’t have the luxury of time on their side.
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Aside from winning the 2023 NBA championship, the Nuggets have failed to live up to expectations. In the last two years, their season has ended in the second round, which is far from ideal. At least their early elimination last year came at the hands of the eventual champion, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Denver made a plethora of changes to ensure they don’t experience the same result. However, NBA analyst Zach Lowe believes the clock has already begun to tick for the Nuggets’ future, especially if another early playoff exit is in their future.
“It does have the feel of sometimes it just doesn’t come together,” Lowe said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “It’s on my radar, it just might be the year it doesn’t happen, and I expected it to happen because there is legitimately a great team in here, but sometimes you run out of time.”
As long as Jokic is healthy, the Nuggets will always have a chance against any team. Nonetheless, the three-time MVP can’t carry the team without any assistance. Denver’s championship aspirations are reliant on health, which hasn’t been something that has been in their favor this season.
The Nuggets have suffered quite the injury-riddled season. Jokic, Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, and Aaron Gordon have all missed significant time due to injury. Gordan has yet to return to the lineup since suffering a right hamstring injury on January 23. The absence of the team’s third-best player was a major blow, but allowed Peyton Watson to shine.
Thankfully, Gordon should be returning to the lineup within the next 10 days. Receiving reinforcements of that magnitude will be huge for the Nuggets as they prepare for the postseason. Bill Simmons is looking forward to a healthy Nuggets team, but can’t help but share the same sentiment as Lowe.
“Sadly, I’m feeling the same way. The problem here is that Jokic is still having an all-time season, and Jamal Murray is having the best season of his life. We shouldn’t have this many questions. Also, when Gordon comes back, what level of Gordon are we getting?” Simmons said.
Simmons raised an excellent concern, considering a hamstring injury isn’t easy to recover from. After all, Gordon suffered a left hamstring injury in the 2025 playoffs, which ultimately pushed the Thunder over the edge in their 7-game series. It’s safe to assume Gordon won’t return immediately, looking to go 100%. It’ll take some time before he performs as he did before the injury.
Regardless, a partially healthy Gordon in the lineup is better than any renditions of the Nuggets without him. Time will tell which version the Nuggets will get and how much of an impact that will have in their hunt for another championship.
