NBA Halloween: Playing trick-or-treat with each team’s early season trend

Denver Nuggets

Denver’s offense took a step backward: Trick

Despite a 3-1 start, it’s been hard to ignore how sluggish the Denver Nuggets‘ offense has looked compared to last season. Through four games, they’re only 14th in offensive rating at 106.5 points per 100 possessions, and dead last in pace (96.2). Last year, they were seventh in O-rating (112.1) and 26th in pace (98.5).

As The Athletic‘s Nick Kosmider pointed out, the Nuggets are only averaging 266 passes per game, which is almost 50 fewer than they averaged last year. They’re generating a much lower percentage of their points in transition, and in their first loss of the season, they went 8-for-26 in the fourth quarter, including 2-for-12 from 3.

However, concerns that their offense has lost its zest should be subdued for now. After all, the Nuggets began last season with a 4-0 record despite only being the league’s 15th-ranked offense at that point. With the addition of Jerami Grant and every major piece from last season still around (Gary Harris is healthy too!), it won’t be long before Denver shakes off the early-season doldrums.