Denver Nuggets prepare to challenge for the Western Conference crown

Denver Nuggets basketball is back! The team started with a 7-2 record and is currently on a four-game win streak.

Denver last beat the defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers at Ball Arena on Saturday without stars Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. The shorthanded Nuggets won 117-100. The newly named head coach, David Adelman, has had a quick start to the season after becoming the interim head coach last season, with three games left in the regular season. Adelman replaced the fired head coach, Michael Malone. In addition to Malone firing the GM, Calvin Booth was also fired but allowed to finish the season. The firings came when the Nuggets were struggling to unite and were on a four-game losing streak. The head coaching change sparked new life in this Nuggets team, which won its first postseason series against the LA Clippers. The team ended last season in a game seven against the eventual NBA champion, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Nuggets have made some significant changes this offseason. Denver traded Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson. Johnson has had a slow start in the Mile High season, and MPJ has been excited about the new opportunity in Brooklyn.

Another significant change for Denver is the acquisition of Jonas Valanciunas, who considered returning to Europe after being traded from the Kings to the Nuggets. Valancinas helps the Nuggets when Nikola Jokic is on the bench. The last big acquisition for Denver is the return of NBA champion with the Nuggets in Bruce Brown. Brown, who had an up-and-down last couple of seasons, bounced around the Eastern Conference before resigning with the Denver Nuggets, giving the Nuggets more depth in their second-team offense.

As of this Tuesday, the Nuggets start their road trip against the former Nugget in Russell Westbrook and the Sacramento Kings, followed by a trip to LA to face the Clippers and concluding with a trip to Target Arena in Minneapolis. This road trip will test this Denver team, as both losses were games on the road in a very close fashion, including one in Portland, where the Nuggets lost by two points. Denver and Portland are in the NBA in-season tournament and are both 1-1in Group C play, which includes many West Coast teams.