The Nuggets suffered a tight loss against the Warriors on Sunday.
The Denver Nuggets are the NBA's highest-scoring team at an average of 120.8 points per game, but that doesn't mean they don't have any flaws.
Injuries have been a big factor in holding the Nuggets back at times, but even at full strength they make fundamental mistakes just like any other team, and those mistakes resulted in a 128-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
Denver head coach David Adelman criticized the team for not coming into the game with the right approach, and Christian Braun identified a problem with the fundamentals of the team that kept them from making full use of their offense.
Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos (15) drives between Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson (23) and guard Christian Braun (0) in the first quarter at Chase Center. David Gonzales-Imagn ImagesNot Taking Care of the Ball
“I think we've just got to take care of the ball. I think a lot of it this year has just been not holding our spots, not being tough enough down the stretch," Braun said (via Nuggets). "I've talked about how I think we had seen where the game was tied, and then we turned the ball over three times... and they scored every time."
The Nuggets actually had one less turnover than the Warriors did, 17-18, but the Warriors were much better at capitalizing on those turnovers. Golden State scored 24 points off of Denver's turnovers and it in such a close game by the final score, those extra points absolutely made a difference.
Golden State Warriors guard De'Anthony Melton (8) dribbles against Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) in the first quarter at Chase Center. David Gonzales-Imagn ImagesAn Uncommon Turnover Game
Typically, the Nuggets are one of the better teams in the NBA when it comes to holding onto the ball. They allow the third-least turnovers of any team at just 12.9 per game, but Sunday night's meltdown was an uncharacteristic showing of carelessness or lack of focus on the court that ended up deciding the game.
As Braun mentioned, those turnovers can stem from a lack of toughness on the floor from the Nuggets as well, which doesn't help them trying to prevent points off of turnovers either.
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) makes a pass to center Nikola Jokic (15) while defended by Golden State Warriors guard De'Anthony Melton (8) and center-forward Al Horford (20) in the first quarter at Chase Center. David Gonzales-Imagn ImagesAs the seasons winds down and each game becomes ever more important for seeding in the tough Western Conference, the Nuggets can't afford to be making mistakes like they did on Sunday and give games away.
There's enough talent on the roster to make up for sloppy play more often than not, then there are games where the competition is too good to miss steps and it takes clean basketball on top the talents that Denver works with to out a W in the win column.
Sunday's loss was a harsh reminder of that fact and not one that Denver will likely forget anytime soon.