Dec 5, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) stands on the court in the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Head coach Michael Malone is in his 10th season as coach of the Denver Nuggets, as Malone has helped bring the Nuggets to six consecutive playoff berths and an NBA title in the 2023 Finals. Despite a winning record in the stacked Western Conference, the Nuggets haven't won consecutive games since the beginning of November when they won five straight.

Thursday night, the Nuggets fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road 126-114 despite a 27-point, 20-rebound, and 11-assist performance by Nikola Jokic. While Denver hasn't made any significant changes to the roster since their NBA Championship in 2023, their former head coach shared some strong words after the game on social media.

George Karl, who spent 8.5 seasons as the head coach of the Denver Nuggets took to X last night to say "The current Nuggets might not even be a Play-in team" after the loss to Cleveland.

While Denver's current stretch hasn't been good by their standards, the numbers on the season back up the Nuggets being a legit contender as an offense. In terms of team offensive stats, they rank fifth in the league in scoring, second in assists, and fourth in field goal and three-point percentage.

However, the Nuggets have struggled on the defensive end this year. League-wide, they are one of the ten worst teams in opponent field goal percentages, three-point percentages, and points per game allowed.

The Nuggets should see their defensive rankings climb up with the return of Aaron Gordon to the lineup, but perhaps change is necessary if Denver wants to keep their championship window open.

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