Championship window seemingly closing for Bucks, Nuggets

With roster changes, aging and a team's natural growth, the championship window closes quickly. The latest NBA teams to face this are the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. Yes, the season is fresh, but there are reasons to worry. 

Let's start with the Nuggets, who won the championship in 2023. With Nikola Jokic in his prime and collecting MVPs, they were positioned to be in championship contention for the next few years. 

Denver followed up the title run with a second-round exit against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After opening this season with losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers, they beat the Toronto Raptors in overtime Monday and the Brooklyn Nets in overtime Tuesday, improving to 2-2.

The Nuggets are still a playoff team, but the ceiling could be lower than expected due to a lack of bench production and improving competition. A bench unit of Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther can't be trusted now. 

You also have to look at the Western Conference competition. Some teams feature multiple dynamic scorers from the wing (see the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns) and deeper teams (see the Thunder, Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies). 

That last group provides the strongest warning because of its youth. It features players who were adequately evaluated and put in positions to develop and compete at their best. Denver's young core of Christian Braun, Watson and Strawther has yet to show consistent signs of growth. 

The Bucks may have a more discouraging outlook. They're 1-3, with head-scratching losses to the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets. They lost 119-108 Monday to the defending champion Boston Celtics. 

After the loss, Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said, "I think our guys like where we're going." Where are they going, exactly?

Since winning it all in 2021, the Bucks haven't advanced past the second round and have gone through three different head coaches. They fired Adrian Griffin last season when the team was 30-13. They're 18-21 since Doc Rivers took over. Was coaching the issue? Maybe the roster is flawed. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard will get their numbers, but who else can be relied on consistently to pressure the defense? Khris Middleton should help when he returns from an ankle injury, but injuries have been a recurring theme. There are even more questions defensively. A backcourt of Lillard and Gary Trent Jr. isn't ideal. Such is the price you pay when trading Jrue Holiday to get Lillard. 

The Bucks' reality is that their core is getting older. Brook Lopez is 36, Lillard is 34, Middleton is 33 and Antetokounmpo will be 30 in December. On top of this, they don't have any young players ready to step into more prominent roles to help extend a championship-contention era. 

Like the Nuggets, the Bucks witness the rise of young, talented, deep teams. The Celtics don't seem to be going anywhere. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 4-0 heading into Wednesday's game against Atlanta and seem to have found a new level. Paolo Banchero has the Orlando Magic looking like the real deal. Plus, there are the strong New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Indiana Pacers. 

It's too early for teams to panic. But whatever is right below panic, the Bucks and Nuggets are there for this season and beyond.