Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:
NBA Insider
When Nikola Jokic admits concern, something is wrong.
That’s what happened after the Nuggets suffered another close loss against the Warriors on Sunday in San Francisco.
“I’m definitely concerned, because we are losing the games,” Jokic said. “We are not creating open looks. So, that’s something that we need to change.”
Denver has played in 29 clutch games, winning 14. The win percentage ranks firmly in the middle of the Association alongside the Cavaliers and Hawks. A lot of the other stats are pretty pedestrian, as well. The Nuggets’ field-goal percentage in the final five minutes of games within five points is 44%, which ranks 15th. The 3-point percentage, 33%, ranks 12th. The Nuggets are taking the second-most free throws in the clutch, but the 78.6% success rate ranks 15th.
There are some more alarming numbers. Denver’s league-best offensive rating drops to seventh in the clutch, and the defensive rating goes from 22nd to 29th. Only Brooklyn has a worse defensive rating in the clutch, and the Nets aren’t exactly making postseason plans. The abysmal defense drags Denver’s net rating down to 27th ahead of only the Pelicans, Grizzlies and Nets. The Nuggets’ assist-to-turnover ratio is 26th ahead of the Timberwolves, Rockets, Trail Blazers and Pacers. Late turnovers were a big part of Sunday’s loss at Golden State.
“We’ve just got to take care of the ball,” Christian Braun said. “A lot of it this year is not holding our spots, not being tough enough down the stretch. … It has nothing to do with our process down the stretch.”
Oddly enough, Denver is 8-2 in clutch games without Jokic and 6-13 with him. That shows just how odd the Nuggets’ clutch struggles have been this season.
“I don’t know what it is,” Jokic said. “But we need to figure it out.”
What I’m Thinking
Let’s hope the tanking issue can partially solve itself after this loaded draft class.
After Adam Silver fined the Jazz $500,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league” in response to Utah sitting key players in the fourth quarter of games, Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic had nasal surgery that will hold him out for the rest of the season. Nurkic wasn’t playing in a mask before opting for surgery.
It’s the most egregious example, but he’s not the only member of lottery-bound teams to recently undergo season-ending surgery. Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis (left meniscus repair), Zach LaVine (fifth finger tendon repair) and De’Andre Hunter (retinal detachment) have all undergone season-ending operations since the All-Star break.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also had surgery on his pinky finger and will miss the rest of the season for Memphis. The injuries are mostly legitimate, but some feel like the kind of things guys typically play through and get fixed in the offseason.
Silver also fined the Pacers, another team at the bottom of the standings, $100,000. The commissioner didn’t sound reluctant to continue fining teams for such behavior at his annual press conference at All-Star weekend, but it’s a lot harder to fine teams for taking care of lingering issues earlier than usual.
A look at the top of mock drafts provides plenty of reason for teams to do so. Kansas’s Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer all look like franchise-changing talents, and the rest of the top 10 features a handful of other potential stars.
Denver Nuggets forward Christian Braun (0) goes up to score against Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)
What They’re Saying
Nuggets coach David Adelman admitted the late scratch of Draymond Green, which moved Al Horford into the starting lineup, required an on-the-fly adjustment.
“That was confusing. I think that’s why we give the injury reports,” Adelman said. “Obviously, the game plan was very different, but that has nothing to do with being more aggressive to rotate to (Horford). I thought coverages in the first half broke down way too much.”
Jokic talked about his own reintroduction to the lineup after the longest absence of his career on Sunday.
“It’s definitely a little bit different, because I’ve never been in this situation,” Jokic said. “Just because I felt so good before the injury, then definitely I need a little bit more time, a little bit more games than usual.”
Denver’s starting shooting guard has had a tough season from 3 but appears to have turned a corner in February. Prior to this month, Braun hadn’t shot better than 24% from deep in any month in a start-and-stop season thanks to a severe ankle sprain. Heading into the final week of the month, Braun is shooting nearly 37%, which is more in line with the first three years of his career.
“I shot it pretty good my first three years,” Braun said. “This year, there’s no excuse. I’ve just been in and out of the lineup, haven’t shot it well yet. I know I will turn that corner. I feel like I’ve shot it better since I came back this last time. Confidence level is the same.”
Peyton Watson posted what appears to be an update on his Instagram on Monday afternoon. Watson hasn’t played since suffering a right hamstring strain on Feb. 4. He was expected to be reevaluated in early March.
“Shake back soon,” Watson captioned a series of photos.
What I’m Following
ESPN released its second Most Valuable Player straw poll last week. Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received 78 of the first-place votes, while Jokic topped 18 ballots. Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (3) and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham (1) were the only other players to receive first-place votes.
Phoenix wing Dillon Brooks is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand. That will likely keep him out of the March 24 game against the Nuggets.
The Lakers unveiled another new statue outside the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday. Prior to the game against the Celtics, Pat Riley became the eighth person with a statue outside the downtown arena, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The NBA’s gotten scrappy in recent weeks, and Memphis guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and Miami guard Myron Gardner were each fined $35,000 for their tussle last week.
Tyrese Haliburton’s recovery hit a bit of a speed bump even though it was nothing to do with his healing Achilles tendon. The Pacers guard was diagnosed with shingles and will be away from the team for multiple weeks.