)
Nobody at Ball Arena is oblivious to the fact that as long as Nikola Jokic is on the roster, annual expectations inherently involve the word "championship." Yet turning that potential into reality remains an uphill battle, even with the world's best basketball player leading the charge.
If that mountain feels particularly steep to climb this season—following three consecutive exits in the first or second round of the playoffs—Nuggets head coach David Adelman has a simple approach to dealing with the pressure: taking it one step at a time.
"If you don't have those kinds of expectations, this league will swallow you up pretty quickly," Adelman admitted on Monday when asked about Denver's status as a title contender.
Still, he stressed the importance of focusing on the regular season first.
"Our expectation is to try to be a top-six team," continued the head coach, who is entering his second season at the helm.
"If you're in the top six in the Western Conference, you can win the West. I'd love to be the No. 1 seed. Last year we were third. The year before that we were fourth. So if you look back at the last 10 years we've been in this cycle, we've occupied just about every spot. We know exactly what lies ahead."
The Nuggets are among a six-team pack in the Western Conference from last postseason widely projected to secure top-six berths once again, in some order, alongside the Thunder, Spurs, Timberwolves, Rockets, and Lakers.
Falling outside the top six means entering the dreaded Play-In Tournament, where even the seventh and eighth seeds are merely two losses away from elimination. There is extra motivation to avoid the Play-In in the West this season, as surviving it offers little reward beyond a daunting first-round matchup. Oklahoma City and San Antonio are heavy favorites to claim the top two spots in the conference, waiting to greet whoever emerges from the Play-In bracket.
Denver has held home-court advantage in the opening round for four consecutive postseasons—securing the No. 1 seed in 2023, No. 2 in 2024, No. 4 in 2025, and No. 3 in 2026. Vegas oddsmakers currently project them as the No. 3 seed once again, though Minnesota and Houston are forecasted just a single win behind.
"We've been in great positions before and didn't win the championship," Adelman said. "So first you have to make the playoffs, and that process is a grind. It's an 82-game journey. If you treat it like a one-off, you're not fully respecting the reality of the NBA process. That's why my expectation is for us to go out and compete fiercely on Thursday [in Oklahoma City], and that starts the process of getting into that tournament."
Strawther Headed for Restricted Free Agency
The deadline for 2023 draft picks to sign rookie scale extensions passed quietly on Monday without a deal for Nuggets guard Julian Strawther. As a result, the 24-year-old is slated to become a restricted free agent next offseason upon the expiration of his rookie contract.
Selected 29th overall in the 2023 draft by former general manager Calvin Booth, Strawther has drifted in and out of the rotation over his first three years in the league. He seemed poised to earn regular minutes early this season before spraining his left knee during a preseason game last week. The Nuggets announced that he will be re-evaluated around Thanksgiving.
Denver secured Christian Braun on a five-year, $125 million extension ahead of the deadline for 2022 draft picks last October. The front office passed on extending Peyton Watson, who hit restricted free agency after a breakout campaign and landed in Cleveland via a sign-and-trade deal this past summer.
&format=webp)
&format=webp)
&format=webp)
&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
&format=webp)