Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:
NBA Insider
There was no moral victory Monday at Ball Arena, but there was a silver, if not gold, lining in the Nuggets’ loss to the Bulls.
“Cam took the same shots that everyone’s been saying ‘What’s going on with Cam?’ It’s going to happen. Cam is going to make shots. That’s the bottom line,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after a disappointing loss to the Bulls. “That’s why we’ve been patient with this. It was really good to see. There’s always silver linings in these games as you work your way through a really long season. He was confident to shoot the ball. Hopefully that’s just kind of a launching pad for Cam.”
Cam Johnson had his best game in a Nuggets uniform after missing the previous game with a right biceps strain. Denver’s starting small forward scored a season-high 19 points, making 5-of-7 attempts from 3-point range. He grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. The Nuggets won the 37 minutes he played by 13 points but lost by three.
“It’s been a rough stretch, one of the worst ones that I’ve had in my entire career,” Johnson said. “You just got to try to count on the fact that you’ll get out of it at some point. Hopefully, for me personally, I can grab a little momentum from this one.”
The 29-year-old joined the Nuggets this summer in the trade that sent Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn. The career 38.8% 3-point shooter started his Nuggets’ tenure 8 of 38 (21%) before his best shooting night of the season. Throughout the slump, Johnson maintained a sometimes-shots-fall-sometimes-they-don’t approach. His teammates and coaches have stayed consistent with their support.
“He’s a great player. Sometimes you just need to go through that stage,” Nikola Jokic said. “It’s nothing that concerns us.”
Jamal Murray felt similarly.
“Making shots is the least of the worries. If it was all the other stuff, it would be something to talk about,” Murray said. “Whether his misses or makes, that’s part of game. We all do that.”
On the nights shots aren’t falling, Johnson said he judges his output on the energy with which he plays, his defensive impact and ability to make the right play with the ball. That’s been more consistent than the shot, but there’s one priority after watching the playoffs from afar the last two seasons.
“Still a lot of room for improvement,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, man, I just want to contribute to wins.”
What I’m Thinking
There’s not much to criticize from Adelman’s first 13 games of the season, but the first-year head coach owned up to one costly misstep after Monday’s game.
Adelman was down to his final timeout in the final 40 seconds when Jokic poked the ball away from Nikola Vucevic. The referees awarded Chicago possession, and there wasn’t much time for Adelman and his assistants to deliberate. He quickly made the decision to challenge the call and risk his final timeout.
“I looked up, and then our guys got a different view of it as well on the computer,” Adelman said of his assistants who advise him in such situations.
“To me, it looked like the ball changed direction down low. I was surprised.”
The referees determined there was not conclusive evidence to overturn the call, and that was it for Denver’s timeouts. Vucevic’s 3-pointer on the possession in question made Denver’s hill to climb even taller, especially without the timeout.
“In my mind, I thought if we win this challenge, I still have my timeout, (and) we have a two-for-one situation with 30-plus seconds on the clock,” Adelman explained.
“Unfortunately, I lost the challenge. That’s on me.”
It looked like Adelman’s decision would be a true killer after Murray hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with a few seconds left. Denver fouled Kevin Huerter, who put the Bulls back up three points with 2 seconds left, before Jokic drew a foul that advanced the ball the same as a timeout.
Jokic’s look at a long 3 just before the buzzer wasn’t close, and Denver dropped to 0-3 in games decided in the final minutes or overtime. It started with a defensive breakdown that allowed Warriors guard Stephen Curry to hit a 3 that forced overtime in Denver’s season opener. A close loss in Portland dropped Denver to 0-2 in the clutch, and the trend continued in the Nuggets’ first home loss. On the flip side, Denver’s only win by fewer than 10 points was 130-124 over Sacramento, and the Nuggets led by 13 points with 2:30 minutes to go before the Kings scored the final seven points.
The clutch performances have been a blight on an otherwise promising start to the Adelman era.
“Obviously, I didn’t have the timeout at the end. That’s on me. That’s a learning experience for me,” Adelman said.
“I will learn from all three situations going forward. It’s good tape to watch, to learn from as a team. I have major belief in this group in the clutch. We’ll have more of these games, and we’ll get better as we go.”
What They’re saying
Denver’s starting point guard also shouldered some blame for Monday’s loss. With Denver down a point with a little more than a minute left, Murray and Jokic initiated the lethal two-man game, but the wrong Nikola got hands on the ball. Vucevic tipped the ball to Ayo Dosunmu, who finished the play with a transition dunk that made it a three-point game. It was just Murray’s second turnover of the game.
“I had a big turnover late. I think that was the key to the loss, honestly,” Murray said. “We can talk about everything leading up to it, but when it comes down to it, it was a big possession.”
The Nuggets’ three-time Most Valuable Player said last week that his days of yelling at referees were over. Jokic explained why that was the case Monday.
“I feel so much better out there. I don’t even think about them. It’s great,” Jokic said.
“I think that was a perfect moment for me to talk with them. I don’t need to yell at them – or we don’t need to yell back and forth. When the season starts, I think it’s really helping me to focus on the game.”
What I’m following
Julian Strawther will miss a second consecutive game Wednesday due to low back pain, but Jokic and Johnson are no longer listed on Denver’s injury report. The Pelicans will be without Jordan Poole and others, while Zion Williamson and Saddiq Bey are questionable.
San Antonio’s trip to Denver on Nov. 28 probably won’t be the must-see matchup that was expected. Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama will be reevaluated in two or three weeks after suffering a left calf strain Friday.
The Nuggets will also avoid Ja Morant on Monday in Memphis. The Grizzlies’ star guard suffered a right calf strain in Saturday’s game against Cleveland and will miss at least two weeks.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo left Monday’s loss to Cleveland with a groin strain and is expected to miss one or two weeks.
The NBA fined the Cavaliers $100,000 Tuesday afternoon after Cleveland held out Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley for the Nov. 12 game at Miami.