The Nuggets have all the physical tools, but do they have the mindset to win a title?
The Denver Nuggets had every chance to beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, and Cam Johnson was the first to say it after the final buzzer.
Denver fell 127-125 in overtime at Crypto.com Arena, dropping their record to 41-27 in a game they led for most of the fourth quarter before watching it slip away.
Johnson Calls for Better Execution
"There are just so many ways we could have won the game tonight," Johnson said postgame, via Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.
"We were in the driver's seat for a lot of that fourth quarter. So for us, it's just about closing games more effectively. And come playoff time, that's really what it is. ... We just have to be better."
It was a tough pill to swallow because Johnson did his part, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting while going 4-for-10 from three and adding four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 43 minutes.
He also posted a team-best plus-15, which tells you how much better the Nuggets looked when he was on the floor and engaged.
The real issue was elsewhere, as Jamal Murray had one of his worst outings of the year with just five points on 1-of-14 shooting before fouling out and leaving the team without their co-star in overtime.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic did everything he could, going for 24 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists for his 27th triple-double of the season, but it still was not enough to overcome Luka Doncic's game-winning fadeaway with half a second left.
Johnson Trending Up After Rough Stretch
What should give the Nuggets confidence is how Johnson has looked lately after a brutal stretch that included a 23-game absence due to a knee injury and a separate ankle issue that cost him more time.
In the three games before the Lakers loss, he averaged 12.7 points while hitting his threes at a much better clip, and his 17-point performance in a blowout win over Houston showed what he can bring when he is healthy and decisive.
On the year, Johnson is averaging 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 41 percent from deep, and the Nuggets have been significantly better when he scores in double figures and takes at least nine shots.
Why Denver Should Still Be Fine
Even with the loss, the Nuggets are sitting at 41-27 and hold the fourth seed in a packed Western Conference where the top seven teams are separated by just a handful of games.
They also won back-to-back games against Houston and San Antonio right before this, and their core of Jokic and Murray remains one of the best duos in the league when both are clicking.
The bigger picture is that Denver has dealt with injuries all season long and still managed to stay in the thick of the race, which says a lot about their depth and their coaching under David Adelman.
Johnson himself has been a work in progress since coming over in the Michael Porter Jr. trade last summer, but he is starting to look more comfortable and his recent play suggests the best version of him in a Nuggets uniform might be showing up right on time.
If Denver can tighten up their late-game execution like Johnson talked about and get a full roster healthy for the playoffs, there is no reason to panic about where this team is headed.
The Nuggets host the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.