8. Denver Nuggets
It hasn't been a banner year for the Denver Nuggets so far this season but the demise of the former NBA Champions has been greatly exaggerated. For all their "struggles" so far this season, the Nuggets are still currently a top 4 team in the Western Conference standings and just two games back of the No. 2 seed. To be perfectly honest, the Nuggets should feel great about where they are at this point in the season. Even as whispers surrounding a big move at the NBA Trade Deadline continue to come up, I'm not sold on this team punting on their core just yet.
If I had to guess, I'd imagine the front office gives this core one more shot to prove their worth with a postseason run this year. If things do go sideways and the Nuggets lose in the first or second round, that's when we could see a big move made during the offseason. However, I do believe, especially with how the team has played of late, that it would be somewhat premature to see Denver make such a rash move mid-season - unless, of course, there's something they know that the public doesn't about their situation.
7. Dallas Mavericks
Just when the Dallas Mavericks were beginning to play their way back into championship shape, Luka Doncic suffered an injury on Christmas Day that will likely keep him out for the next month, perhaps more. He's expected to be reevaluated at the end of January. Because of this injury, it will likely be difficult for the Mavs to make up much ground in the Western Conference standings. Currently, the Mavs are the sixth seed and in danger of falling into the race for one of the Play-In Tournament spots in the West.
While there's still plenty of season for Luka to get healthy and help push the Mavs back up the standings, this is a team that already needs to be looking at what could be awaiting them in the postseason. If Dallas is going to make another deep postseason run as they did last year, they're going to need a full bill of health. At least so far this season, that hasn't been the case more often than not. I wouldn't panic yet if I was the Mavs but this is around the time it's time to begin to prioritize Luka's health for the stretch run.