The Denver Nuggets once again enter the season with high expectations as Nikola Jokic remains on the team and is still viewed as one of the top three players on the team.

Denver is coming off a disappointing year where they finished third in the Western Conference, but lost in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves. While changes were teased in the offseason, Denver is bringing back the same starting lineup, but the bench will look much different.

The Denver offense should once again be at the top of the league as Jokic remains the best offensive player in the league, but they still have a glaring weakness on the other side of the court.

The Nuggets had the worst defense among all playoff teams last season, and it didn’t exactly get better in the playoffs, with Jaden McDaniels calling out everyone as bad defenders.

Bringing back the same starting lineup isn’t going to help their defense unless Christian Braun looks more like he did two years ago and less like he did last year. If Aaron Gordon is able to stay healthy, the Denver defense automatically becomes better.

Much of their defense comes down to Jokic and his lack of effort at the rim. If teams get past the first line of defense, Jokic has rarely offered a strong second line of defense.

Denver lacks a primary stopper and athleticism in their starting lineup that puts them at a disadvantage.

Their bench defense looks a lot better with Spencer Jones and Julian Strawther having the tools to be competitive defenders, and the addition of Alpha Diallo, the top defensive player in the EuroLeague last season.

If Diallo is as good as advertised, Denver’s trajectory completely changes.

The Denver offense will be fine with Murray and Jokic on the court, but their lack of secondary playmaking showed up in the playoffs, with Jokic lacking consistency from game to game and Murray struggling in the six games.

Tyus Jones is expected to serve as the backup point guard, and there has been internal talk of Christian Braun improving as a creator. If Braun is able to handle the ball a bit more, that will take some pressure off of Jokic and Murray.

Cameron Johnson could also improve in this area, as he felt underutilized for portions of last season, becoming too much of a spot-up shooter and not enough of a self-creator.