The Denver Nuggets suffered a surprising 128-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, despite Dub Nation being without their core bunch of star players. Nikola Jokic put up a masterclass 35-20-12, but it wasn’t enough to get the win and after the game, he expressed some concerns for his team going into the second half of the season, as they sit third in the West.

Denver has had an interesting season up to this point. They’ve dealt with a ton of injuries, and because of it, haven’t been able to win consistently. Even Jokic missed 17 games dealing with a hyperextended left knee.

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As of now, the Nuggets are 36-22. It’s a solid record, yet they sit eight games out of first place in the Western Conference. They were considered title contenders alongside the OKC Thunder in the beginning of the campaign. But now, that idea is beginning to fade and Jokic knows that they have to turn things around soon.

“I’m definitely concerned because we are losing the games, and we’re not creating open looks. So, that’s something that we need to change. Hopefully, we get better. I don’t know what it is, but we need to figure it out,” Jokic told the media after the loss.

The three-time MVP sounded genuinely worried about the current state of his team. They are still winning games at a 62% clip and are on pace for a better record than last season. But clearly, Jokic doesn’t think that the current level of play is going to warrant a title.

What’s concerning about the Nuggets is that they’re a bit of a mirage. They’re 16th in the league in clutch games, losing 14 of 30 such games thus far. When they have a comfortable lead, they can get the wins. Yet, when things get tense late, they tend to shrivel up.

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Head coach David Adelman was also not happy with the effort from his team today.

“We were not ready to play. This has been a tough weekend for us with the game time, the back-to-back, and all that,” Adelman shared with the media. “But that has nothing to do with your approach to the game. We gave them confidence early. Their energy surpassed ours; they played harder.”

The coach spoke the truth. Golden State jumped out to a 12-point lead after the first quarter and extended it to 14 in the second. Denver tried to play catch-up, and they did. But they couldn’t fend off another tidal wave of offense from Podziemski, who scored 14 points in the fourth.

At the end of the day, the trade deadline has already passed, so the Nuggets are going to have to fix their issues in-house. The good news is that Jokic now looks fully healthy. Also, other key players like Cameron Johnson are starting to ramp up into consistent minutes.

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But without Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, the Nuggets might have a tough time winning games for now. Especially since they play teams like the Boston Celtics, OKC Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers in the coming days. We’ll see how they fare. However, don’t be too surprised if they begin to fall down the Western Conference ladder.

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