Denver's Road Back to the Finals Runs Through Defense, Not Offense
A defense that ranked 21st last season, a payroll pinned above the first apron, and an unresolved question about Aaron Gordon's health matter more to this season's ceiling than another gaudy offensive number.
Denver's offense was the league's best last season, but its defense finished 21st, and the roster built to fix that gap can't add money without moving it first. Aaron Gordon, the wing most likely to close that distance, saw his designation flip from day-to-day to cleared and back on September 13, with no update since.
The number offense can't fix
Denver's offense ran at a 121.2 rating last season, tops in the league, and still finished with a net rating of just 5.2, seventh overall. The gap sits on the other end of the floor: a defensive rating of 116.0, 21st in the NBA. That gap is the story the offense's flashy numbers hide. Denver has never lacked shooting. What it has lacked is stops.
A roster that can't shop
Payroll sits at $221.1 million, above the $209.0 million first apron, with Jokić, Murray, Gordon and Johnson accounting for most of it. Denver's own first-round picks are protected through 2027 and beyond, and the 2028, 2029 and 2030 firsts are already promised to Oklahoma City. Any defensive upgrade has to come from the players already in the building, not a trade deadline addition. DeMar DeRozan, who joined September 9, raises the offensive floor further; Nugg Love has reported he does it without costing Denver on defense, but that only holds if DeRozan's own matchups are hidden by better defenders around him.
The defender the group is waiting on
Aaron Gordon is that defender, and his status has been unsettled. On September 13 his designation moved from day-to-day to cleared, then back to day-to-day, and nothing has resolved it since. Gordon played just 36 games last season, and Peyton Watson's departure, which the Athletic called one of its favorite under-the-radar trades of the summer, thins the wing depth further. Cam Whitmore's two-way signing on September 18 adds athleticism, not proven defense.
So, is it good enough?
Not on the evidence so far, and not until Gordon's health is settled. A defense built around one healthy wing and a center who competes more with effort than length needs its personnel intact more than it needs a new scheme. David Adelman gets his first full season to find answers, but the honest read heading into camp is that Denver's Finals math depends less on Jokić's shooting than on whether Gordon is actually available.
Is Denver's defense good enough to get back to the Finals?
Not based on last season's numbers, when the Nuggets ranked 21st defensively despite the league's top offense, and the roster has little room to address it through trades.
What is Aaron Gordon's health status heading into the season?
Unresolved. His designation moved from day-to-day to cleared and back to day-to-day on September 13, and there has been no update since.
