It’s like David Adelman has done this before.

But the Nuggets’ first-year coach hasn’t outside the final three games of last regular season, two postseason series and a few other games where his predecessor, Michael Malone, was out sick or ejected. It turns out growing up the son of longtime NBA coach Rick Adelman and a stint as Malone’s lead assistant has helped the 44-year-old operate like he’s been doing this for much longer than a year.

“You can’t look at a moment and say, ‘Man, if we would’ve won that game, then we would’ve won three in a row; then we would’ve taken off.’ You just have to go day by day,” Adelman said after Friday’s win over the Raptors.

“I think that’s been the frustrating part, I imagine, for anybody — our players, everybody. For me as a coach, I just can’t think that way. I have to think about beating the Blazers on Sunday.”

Adelman’s first full season in charge has provided no shortage of tests. The Nuggets looked like legitimate contenders after starting 9-2. Denver had the second-best net rating in October and rounded out the top five in November. Injuries continued to pile up, however. Denver’s descent in net rating continued to 10^th in December when Nikola Jokic suffered the most significant injury of his NBA career.

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Trail Blazers, the Nuggets have the seventh-best net rating behind the Thunder, Pistons, Celtics, Spurs, Knicks and Cavaliers. The offense remains the league’s best, but the defensive end ranks 21^st. None of the teams with worse defensive ratings than the Nuggets can claim legitimate title hopes, but that hasn’t dimmed Denver’s belief. Most of the Nuggets’ expected playoff rotation was in Denver for the 2023 championship run.

“We’ve done it. We’ve also seen it ourselves. We’ve seen it behind closed doors,” Jamal Murray said.

“What we have in the locker room, there’s no reason for us not to believe. Of course, we’re confident. Even if we have a bad game or a bad loss, we just find a way to pick it up and get back to what we do — not let the outside noise affect us. We just try to bounce back the best we can and let our energy speak for itself. … If we play with this kind of energy — whether we miss or make shots — we have a chance to beat everybody that’s in front of us.”

Adelman’s first full season in charge has featured an equal number of moments where the Nuggets look capable of challenging the league’s elite and incapable of beating teams outside the playoff picture. That’s led to internal and external frustration, but the belief that this can still be a special season persists for the rookie coach.

“I just have extreme confidence in the group, man. I know it’s been up and down. Believe me, I’m coaching the team. … I go to bed every night after I watch the film, I think the same things you’re thinking, and we talk about it. You try to get better every day. That’s the bottom line,” Adelman said with his team starting Saturday percentage points behind Houston for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.

“You’re in a great spot still. Opportunity is out there, and I think we’ll keep trending in the right direction.”