The Denver Nuggets may have an abundance of talent, but that talent only goes so far if it isn't being utilized. 

After falling to 5-4 on the season after suffering a 110-100 loss to the Houston Rockets, head coach David Adelman called out a number of flaws he saw in his team's game that's led them to this point, but one of his biggest points of frustration stemmed from the lack of aggressiveness he saw in his players.

The Nuggets have been one of the best shooting teams from the field this season at 48.1% from the field, second in the NBA to only the Los Angeles Lakers, but they've been marginally less successful in three point range as the ninth-best three point shooting team in the NBA.

But while the overall averages point toward a team that's been thriving at putting the ball from the hoop, Adelman fears that some recent struggles from his team have spooked them in passing up wide open shots for fear of failure, something that he's been trying to work out of them.

He saw that hesitation against the Rockets and took the time in his post game interview to assure his team publicly that he wasn't going to hold missing good shots against them.

"There was ball movement that wasn't needed. When you've already brought their second, third defender over and created a wide open shot, you've got to shoot it," Adelman said (via Nuggets). "I keep saying it [and] the guys have to believe it. You're not coming out of the game for shooting open shots. That's how you play basketball... You've got to keep firing."

Adelman clarified that the hesitation he saw wasn't limited just to bench players that could fear losing their spots, but that he even saw it from star center Nikola Jokic, who eventually turned up his aggressiveness in the season half. 

But the team's overall hesitation did show up in the final box score. While the Rockets were admittedly having a better shooting night from beyond the arc, both Denver and Houston shot 45% from the field overall, but the Nuggets' hesitation kept them behind.

The Nuggets only attempted 83 shots to the Rockets' 91 and only attempted 29 three pointers compared to Houston's 38. Missing shots is one thing and something that comes and goes game-by-game. Not shooting at all though is a different story and something much more within the Nuggets' control.

Adelman actively encouraging his team to shoot more is a good sign and ideally something that will translate to more aggressiveness from the field for the team. 

One thing that certainly won't help the team's efficiency from the field is refusing to shoot at all, which is the trend they've so far been following. Adleman is trying to foster a culture of offensive confidence and aggressiveness for his team, but it is up to them to find that confidence for themselves.