The Denver Nuggets have had a rough start to their 2026-27 campaign. After losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on opening night and falling behind by as many as 23 points against the New Orleans Pelicans in their home opener, the Nuggets suffered a 20-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, falling to 1-2.
The Nuggets have been very flawed through three games, and some of their biggest weaknesses were on display in Monday's loss to Golden State. Let's take a closer look at what was good, bad, and ugly for the Nuggets in their 134-114 loss to the Warriors:
The Good: Turnovers
After turning the ball over 22 times in their season opener, the Nuggets have just 23 total turnovers over their last two games. In Monday's loss, the Nuggets finished with 12 turnovers, compared to Golden State's 17, which turned into 23 points off turnovers for Denver and 18 fastbreak points. A couple of ugly turnovers will stay in fans' minds after this game, but overall, they survived.
Keep in mind, there were not many positives from this game. The starters struggled to make an impact, DeMar DeRozan led the team in scoring off the bench, and nobody really stood out as a true game-changer. Unlike when they came back from down 23 points against the Pelicans, the Nuggets really did not have the same juice on Monday night, but we can positively say they did a good job of taking care of the ball.
After this became a real issue in Denver's season opener, we can appreciate how they have cleaned things up in this area. Nikola Jokic committed just one turnover, and Jamal Murray committed three. If they continue to win the turnover battle, as they have in the last two games, they will find more success.
The Bad: Three-Point Shooting
Back-to-back threes to start this one pic.twitter.com/nTk8yzwt3Q
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) October 27, 2026
Heading into the season, there was some concern about Denver's three-point shooting. Then, when Julian Strawther suffered an injury that would sideline him for several weeks, that concern grew. After three games, we can confidently say that three-point shooting is a serious problem for the Nuggets.
In Monday's loss, the Nuggets shot just 10-29 (34%) from beyond the arc. Now, over three games, they are shooting just 36-119 (30%) from deep. The Nuggets need to find their rhythm from three-point range, as it really hurt them against this Warriors team that couldn't miss.
The Warriors shot 22-44 (50%) from deep on Monday night, completely dismantling the Nuggets from beyond the arc. Cameron Johnson's absence certainly didn't help the Nuggets either, but they might not be able to survive much longer without some serious three-point threats on the floor.
The Ugly: Defense
This category could also go to the Nuggets' rebounding, as they lost the rebound battle 45-32, but let's focus on their horrendous defense instead. This seems to be a common trend for the Nuggets dating back to last season, as opposing offenses must love it when Denver comes up on their schedule.
The Nuggets not only allowed the Warriors to score 134 points in regulation, but they literally could not stop them all night. The Warriors shot 54% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. Sure, it felt like they couldn't miss, but most of their success can be attributed to Denver's poor defense.
Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg led the way with the best game of his young career, dropping 31 points, while Steph Curry finished with 24 points on perfect 8-8 shooting from the field. We knew the Nuggets' defense was a problem, but that is two games in a row where the opposing team's offense has gotten whatever they want.
The Nuggets could easily be 0-3 to start the season if it weren't for their miraculous 23-point comeback against the Pelicans, so we can hope they use this loss to Golden State as a learning opportunity to improve moving forward.
Add us as a preferred source on Google