Last season, the Denver Nuggets failed to repeat their 2023 championship performance.

The Denver Nuggets fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game Western Conference semifinals.

While losing to eventual champions isn’t necessarily disappointing, the series exposed significant roster flaws.

The campaign highlighted Denver’s overdependence on Nikola Jokic, as the team struggled to find alternative scorers during non-Jokic minutes.

Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post

Rachel Nichols criticizes Nuggets for historic on-off rating disparity with Nikola Jokic

Last season, the Nuggets forced Jokic to play a career-high 36.7 minutes per game, creating unsustainable workload concerns.

NBA journalist Rachel Nichols harshly criticized Denver’s roster construction after reviewing Jokic’s impact statistics.

“The on off numbers of Jokic last year and the team, I mean, it was criminal. I’d love to know where that fits into like the all time, on-off for a single star,” Nichols explained.

“And they just would lose ground every game by such a degree, every time Jokic stepped off the floor and it put real wear and tear on him.”

The veteran journalist emphasized how the excessive minutes affected Jokic’s performance throughout the season.

Despite his exceptional averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game, visible fatigue became apparent.

“He obviously played well through that seventh game but you could see him get worn down at times this season, putting together that spectacular season, because it was literally the only way the team could even win a game,” Nichols added.

Jonas Valanciunas acquisition addresses critical backup center needs for Nikola Jokic

Nichols believes the Nuggets found their solution in veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, who can provide stability during Jokic’s rest periods.

The addition of Valanciunas should significantly improve Denver’s non-Jokic minutes next season.

“I think Valanciunas is just going to raise that floor so much. He’s not a superstar in that category, certainly older, but he’s a grown up and he’s big, and I just think he’s going to make those non-Jokic minutes so much more palatable,” Nichols explained.

Valanciunas averaged 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds while playing 18.8 minutes per game for Washington and Sacramento last season.

His presence should reduce the physical and mental pressure on Jokic, and help the Nuggets to challenge OKC in the Western Conference.

“And so I just think that will take some pressure off him, both mentally and physically. And so he will be, if it’s possible to be better, he will be better,” Nichols concluded.