Denver Once Ran Teams Off the Floor. Now It Walks Them to Death
The franchise that scored 100 points for 136 straight games under Doug Moe now wins by slowing everything down, and tonight's preseason opener against the Jazz asks whether this deliberate, unchanged core can push one more step past Oklahoma City.
Denver's two championship-era identities, the run-and-gun teams of the late 1970s and the deliberate, Jokic-built roster of now, sit at opposite ends of the pace chart yet reached the same destination: a title, won in 2023 over Miami. Tonight the Nuggets open against Utah, the same franchise that eliminated them in a seven-game series in 1994, with the identical starting core from training camp and no new injuries beyond Spencer Jones's hamstring.
A Franchise Built on Speed
Under coach Doug Moe, Denver scored 100 points in 136 consecutive games, still an NBA record, and averaged a league-record 126.5 points a game in 1981-82 with Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe leading the way. On December 13, 1983, the Nuggets and the Pistons combined for 370 points in a triple-overtime game Detroit won 186-184. That identity is gone. Last season Denver played at a pace of 99.5 possessions a game, built around Nikola Jokic setting tempo from the center position rather than players running the floor.
The Jazz Have Beaten This Team Before
Utah is tonight's opponent, and the history between these franchises includes a seven-game Western Conference series in 1994 that Utah won after Denver, as an 8-seed led by Dikembe Mutombo, upset the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in overtime to get there. That Denver team finished 42-40. This one went 54-28 last season with the league's top-ranked offense, a gap the current roster carries into camp as more foundation than ghost.
One Banner, One Owner, One Logo
Stan Kroenke has owned the Nuggets since 2000, the same purchase that brought him Ball Arena itself. Fat Lever's number was retired there in December 2017, during a win over the Lakers, the rival Denver finally got past in the 2023 Western Conference finals on its way to the franchise's first championship. The pick-axe on the jersey has represented the team since 2018-19, a nod to the mountains the arena sits under.
What Carries Into Tonight
The roster that opens preseason against Utah is the one that closed camp: Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and DeMar DeRozan still anchor it. Gordon's health has gone unclarified since mid-September. Spencer Jones, not listed as hurt as recently as October 1, now carries a hamstring and leg issue into the opener. Ryan Nembhard arrived on a two-way contract the same day, September 30, that KJ Simpson departed. None of it changes the larger question this franchise has carried since 2023: whether this group gets past Oklahoma City again when the games start to matter.
Has Denver played Utah in the playoffs before?
Yes. The Jazz beat the Nuggets in seven games in the 1994 Western Conference semifinals, the round after Denver's 8-seed upset of top-seeded Seattle.
Is Aaron Gordon healthy for the opener?
His status has not been clarified since his designation changed in mid-September, and no update came with a September 28 notes report that mentioned him again.
