8. Denver Nuggets
I believe the Denver Nuggets will be fine and it’s probably not fair to fully grade this team until they get Jamal Murray back. There are some early-season concerns, most of which revolve around Michael Porter Jr.
Nikola Jokic is still an MVP-level talent and he will get the Nuggets going in the right direction, hopefully, sooner rather than later. In a wide-open Western Conference, I don’t think we should be fading the Nuggets.
If Murray returns, and the team doesn’t look as good as they were last season, then perhaps that’s the time to have a different conversation. For now, I think the Nuggets are OK and will only get better as the season goes on.