Where the Nuggets Stand at 2-2 Heading Into Phoenix

The Denver Nuggets have not found a rhythm yet, though the good version of this team does not look far off.

Denver is 2-2 after four games, sitting ninth in the Western Conference, and they have gone back and forth between losses and wins since opening night.

The season opened with a 96-84 loss in Oklahoma City on Oct. 22.

Denver fell behind by 23 at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 24 before coming back to win 141-135 in overtime, with point guard Jamal Murray scoring 42 points.

The Golden State Warriors then beat the Nuggets 134-114 in Denver on Oct. 26, and head coach David Adelman was blunt about it afterward.

"We're 1-2. There's 79 games to go," Adelman told the Denver Gazette after that loss.

"You're always frustrated when you lose a game, but this is a process. We have to keep working with the group that we have."

The Nuggets bounced back on Wednesday in New Orleans with a 104-91 win.

Center Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his 200th career triple-double in the regular season, Murray added 23 points and power forward Aaron Gordon had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Health has been the biggest thing holding Denver back.

Power forward Cameron Johnson sprained his right ankle in the opener and has not played since, but he has been upgraded to questionable for Friday's game in Phoenix, and small forward Alpha Diallo is also questionable for personal reasons, as laid out in the latest injury report.

Shooting guard Julian Strawther is still out with a left knee sprain and small forward Spencer Jones is still out with bilateral hamstring injury management.

Rookie power forward Trevon Brazile started on Wednesday and scored 11 points, and Jokic made a point to give the rookies credit after the win.

Once Johnson is back, Adelman can move those rookies into smaller roles, and that should help a defense that fell apart against Golden State.

The Nuggets visit the Phoenix Suns on Friday night in an NBA Cup group stage opener, then come home to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 2 and the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 4.

After that, they face the Indiana Pacers in Mexico City on Nov. 7 and visit Houston on Nov. 9.

Jokic is averaging 22.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists, Murray is scoring 22.5 points a night, and Gordon has praised the new system Adelman brought in.

Jokic also needs 10 more regular season triple-doubles to pass Russell Westbrook for the most in NBA history.

A .500 start is not where Denver wants to be, but I think this roster climbs once Johnson is back in the starting group.

The team clearly does not quit, as the New Orleans comeback proved, while the Golden State game was a reminder that the defense still needs work.

If the Nuggets can lock in on that end over the next week, they should be well above .500 by the time they leave Houston.