The Nuggets Need To Reboot For 2026

It’s controversial to campaign for a coach to be fired, but sometimes it is warranted. David Adelman did a poor job coaching this year. It began with the defensive side of the ball.

The team finished 21st in defensive rating in the regular season. That was by far the worst for a team entering the playoffs. They could not get a stop when they needed, and Minnesota took advantage of that.

This was viewed as the most talented Nuggets team in the Nikola Jokic era. Some people claimed that it was better than the championship team. It was a reasonable claim as the bench was the strongest it had been in years.

The return of Bruce Brown brought that championship feel back to Denver as he helped them win in 2023. The Nuggets also acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas to further bolster the bench. Hardaway was a knockdown shooter, and Jokic finally got a competent backup center.

This was all possible because Denver got out of Michael Porter Jr.’s contract by trading him to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. The moves made sense, and they fit with one another.

How can a team with this much talent fizzle out in round one? One answer is injuries, and the other is coaching. Yes, Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson were out of the rotation down the stretch, but that is still no excuse. The Timberwolves were down Anthony Edwards, Dante Divincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu, and still won by double digits in the close-out Game Six.

When a talented team lacks postseason success and struggles on defense, the coach usually does not keep their job. For those who want an example, look at the other side of the street. The Denver Broncos under John Fox had the best offense from 2012-2014 and were immensely talented on that side of the ball with Peyton Manning. Fox was fired in 2015 because the team fizzled out in the first playoff game in two of those years.

It may not be fair, but it’s a results-driven business, and Adelman just wasn’t good enough.

The Formula Is Expired

The Nuggets have had a clear vision for many years now. Run the pick and roll with Jokic and Jamal Murray, and surround them with shooters and cutters. It’s been a formula that has brought them a lot of success, but now, it’s time to shake things up.

Defense has been an afterthought for most of this era. Since the 2018-2019 season, they have been poor to solid for most of the years. The ranks were 10th(2018), 16th(2019), 11th(2020), 15th(2021), 15th(2022), 8th(2023), 22nd(2024), and 21st(2025). This ranged from the 2018 regular season to the 2025 season.

For Denver to make some real noise moving forward, it is going to have to look more like that 2023 ranking. Their two-man game between Murray and Jokic looked stale against Minnesota. When that goes wrong, the team struggles to score on offense, and then it trickles down to their defense.

It is no coincidence that the worst defensive rankings were the most recent ones. Teams are slowly beginning to figure out the Nuggets on offense, so, as a result, they have to work harder on offense, which leads to worse defensive production.

It’s time to turn the page and get more athletes who can play both sides of the ball. The best teams right now are the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics. What do they have in common? They possess great perimeter defenders who are capable of hitting the three-pointer.

This begins with restructuring Christian Braun’s contract and moving on from Aaron Gordon. It’s time to prioritize players such as Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones. Two players that fit the “3 and D” category.

The formula should be to surround Jokic and Murray with great perimeter defenders. The 2022 Nuggets, as mentioned before, were a great example of this. That lineup had Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was a good perimeter defender against opposing guards. It also consisted of Porter Jr., who was a tremendous shot blocker, and then Gordon, who was a Swiss Army Knife that could guard any position.

End Of Denver Nuggets Rant

It’s been a good run for this current iteration of the Nuggets. Their time, however, is up. The Timberwolves have shown them twice that their current roster is extremely flawed.

It’s time for Denver to get more athletic and get bigger on the wings.

For Minnesota, they deserved this series. They were the better-coached and hungrier team. I tip my cap to Jaden McDaniels for being able to back his trash talk. He scored 32 points in the close-out Game Six and hit big shot after big shot in the clutch.

What a somber ending to a promising season.