It’s a good time to take inventory for the Denver Nuggets’ season.

Not only are the Nuggets 20 games in, roughly a quarter of the way through their regular season, but Game 20 happened to come against the league’s best team, at least by record. Thursday’s 126-114 loss to Cleveland not only dropped Denver to 11-9, it showed the Nuggets how far they are away from playing with the league’s best.

“Not even close,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said postgame.

“We’re a team that’s trying to find themselves, and I think that’s fairly obvious tonight. They were the superior team across the board.”

Sometimes the NBA schedule gives a team just what they need. After playing the team with the league’s best record, Denver heads to Washington to face the league’s worst record. The Wizards carry a 16-game losing streak into Saturday’s get-right opportunity for an up-and-down Nuggets team.

“I think 20 games in, we should know who we are. We should know what we’re supposed to do, but I don’t know the answer to that question,” Nikola Jokic said. “I think we are still kind of looking.”

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the first 20 games:

The Good

– There’s only one place to start here, and that’s Jokic. He looks like the league’s best player by a comfortable margin, even if Denver’s record doesn’t reflect as much. He’s averaging 29.9 points, 13.4 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 55.9% from the field, 50% from 3 and 81.7% at the free throw line. He ranks third in scoring average, first in rebounds and second in assists. He’s simply a one-of-one talent at this point.

– Heading into the season, arguably the biggest question facing the Nuggets was Christian Braun’s ability to effectively replace Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Denver’s starting lineup. Braun answered the question loudly, clearly and confidently. He’s scored in double figures in all 20 of Denver’s games and has done so without forcing it. He’s off to career-best marks in field-goal percentage (57.1%), 3-point percentage (43.4%) and free throw percentage (78.4%). Defensively, he’s taken on the challenge of guarding the opponents’ top perimeter threat to mostly positive results. He’s been better than Caldwell-Pope at guarding some of the bigger and stronger assignments like Anthony Edwards, while he still has some things to learn about guarding the smaller and craftier guards that Caldwell-Pope excelled against.

– Michael Porter Jr.’s slow start feels like forever ago. After making just 4 of his first 20 3-pointers to start the season, Porter is up to 41.1%. from deep despite the slow start. He’s also showing growth as a playmaker, as his 2.7 assists per game are nearly double his previous best. Given Porter’s history, it’s also important to note, he’s played in all 20 of Denver’s games at nearly 36 minutes per game. Imagine reading that in 2021 after Porter required a third back surgery nine games into the season. There continue to be some lapses on the defensive end, but he was one of the few players who showed up on that end against Cleveland with three steals and a couple of blocks.

– The Nuggets have played a challenging schedule so far. Heading into Friday’s slate, Denver has played only six games against teams with losing records – the Raptors (twice), Nets, Jazz (twice) and Pelicans. Denver is 5-1 in those games with the exception being a seven-point loss in New Orleans without Jokic. Oklahoma City has the Western Conference’s easiest remaining schedule, per Tankathon, as the combined winning percentage of their opponents the rest of the season is .489. Denver has the second-easiest schedule in the West, as their future opponents have a collective .490 win percentage. It’s worth remembering the Nuggets were 13-7 with a few ugly losses through 20 games of the championship season.

The Bad

– There hasn’t been much continuity for either the first or second units. Braun and Porter are the only players who’ve started every game. Jokic is a bit of an asterisk, as he missed three games for the birth of his second child. Jamal Murray missed three games with a concussion, while Aaron Gordon’s calf strain that cost him 10 games was by far the most costly injury early in the season. Vlatko Cancar’s ankle and knee injuries have given Malone one fewer option off the bench for most of the season, and he’s expected to miss another couple of months. Denver’s starting five has started less than half the games together.

– Another one of bigger questions coming into the season surrounded how Murray would look after he wasn’t his typical self for much of the playoffs and a short showing at the Olympics. The question is being asked even louder, especially with Murray’s status uncertain for Saturday’s game with a hamstring issue. It’s unfair to criticize Murray for the three games he missed with a concussion. Those who question his fitness or toughness have their argument weakened by the fact he’s playing more than 36 minutes per game, which would be the most of his career. The shooting numbers are more problematic. His 3-point (33.3) and free throw (80.3) percentages are on pace to be the lowest of his career, while his 42% from the field would be the worst since his rookie season. His rebounds, assists, steals and turnovers are all around where they were the last couple of seasons, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations as Denver’s secondary scorer.

– Part of Calvin Booth’s plan for this team banked on big contributions from Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther. There have been bright spots from the young reserves, but the kind of consistency the second unit needs has been elusive. They’ve both been in the rotation every game to start the season while playing more than 20 minutes per game. Strawther, whose shooting and scoring ability is crucial for Denver’s second unit, has scored in double figures in consecutive games just once this season, the early wins against the Jazz and Raptors. Watson’s numbers are inflated by his increased minutes when he filled Gordon’s spot in the starting lineup. The only time Watson scored more than 10 points off the bench came against the Raptors when Gordon left the court after four minutes with the injury. Russell Westbrook is simply having to do too much for Denver’s bench.

– While Denver’s schedule has been challenging, it’s also been light on the number of games. The Nuggets were the last team in the Western Conference to play their 20th game. Four of the teams in the top six of the conference standings have played 23 or more. That increases the degree of difficulty as the Nuggets play catchup in the final three quarters of the season.

– Denver’s defense simply hasn’t been good enough for the team to be considered contenders. Through 20 games, Denver’s offensive rating (115) ranks seventh behind the Knicks, Celtics, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Thunder. Those six teams all rank in the top four in their conference standings. Denver’s defensive rating, 114, ranks 20th. The Trail Blazers, Lakers, Pelicans and Jazz are the only teams in the West with worse defensive ratings. Portland, New Orleans and Utah are stacked at the bottom of the conference standings. “There’s stretches where we can’t get a stop, and we look like five strangers on the court together,” Malone said.

The Ugly

– There is only one place to start here, and that’s Jokic’s stable of backups. Dario Saric was brought in to be the answer to a question that has stumped the Nuggets for the last few seasons. Denver used one of its few resources this offseason, the taxpayer mid-level exception, to sign Saric to a two-year contract worth a little more than $5 million per season with a player option for next season. Saric was out of Malone’s rotation five games into the season and only returned when Jokic was away from the team. He hit a big shot to help the Nuggets beat Memphis, but he hasn’t played a meaningful minute since Jokic returned. He’s shooting 30% from the field and 26.3% from 3 in his short time with the Nuggets. Zeke Nnaji has gotten another chance the last couple of games, but his lack of production has led to Malone using Gordon as his back-up center in the second half of close games. DeAndre Jordan has been the guy against teams with bigger backup centers, but his eight appearances are fewer than Nnaji (14) and Saric (10). One of the three providing more help the rest of the way is an absolute necessity.

– Booth can make all the calls he wants, but improving the roster in a meaningful way is going to take a bit of brilliance. The Nuggets are short on tradeable draft assets after sending multiple second-round picks to get off of Reggie Jackson’s contract and a couple of more to move up in the draft and select DaRon Holmes II, who will miss the entire season after tearing his Achilles tendon at Summer League. The only first-round pick Denver can trade thanks to the Stepien Rule, which prevents teams from trading their first-round pick in back-to-back seasons, is their 2031 pick. As far as trading players go, Jokic isn’t going anywhere. Even if the Nuggets wanted, they can’t trade Murray or Gordon this season. The sixth-month window where players can’t be traded after signing extensions extends beyond the February trade deadline for both players. That leaves Michael Porter Jr. as the only real option among Denver’s four players making more than $20 million. The problem would be getting equal return for a player with Porter’s medical history. Also, trading Porter would do very little to solve Denver’s shooting situation. Trading a young player like Braun, Watson or Strawther doesn’t make much sense given Denver’s need for young, cheap talent around the core four. Nnaji and Saric have negative trade value at the moment, especially considering their salaries. Booth’s best bet might be waiving a non-contributor and adding a player on a veteran minimum. Hey, Justin Holiday’s still a free agent who’s still living in Denver.

– The body language, and language in general, hasn’t been pretty this season. Malone lit into the team, starters included, and questioned the effort, toughness and physicality after giving up 145 points in a blowout loss to the Knicks in Denver’s 16th game of the season. A concerning clip from Thursday’s game made the social-media rounds Friday. Gordon appeared to call for a quick huddle before a Cleveland free throw only for Murray not to join. Murray said the right stuff postgame.

“I think it just comes down to playing hard and communicating, wanting to play for each other. I don’t think you’ve got to overthink it. It’s a game. It’s basketball. We love playing with each other. We love being here,” he said, but it was a tough look. Prior to Tuesday’s win against the Warriors, Malone said his team was doing too much playing with each other and doing too little of playing for each other. That’s a reflection of selflessness, and though there were bright spots in that regard Tuesday, it remained an issue Thursday.

“Everybody’s got to own where they’re at, where we’re at. I think it’s so easy in this league to look elsewhere. I think it’s important for all of us – and it starts with me as a head coach, I never shy away from that responsibility – to look in the mirror and say ‘What can I do better? How can I help this team more? Not ‘What can I get out of this?’” Malone said.

“We have to get back to playing ‘we’ basketball for each other (on) both ends of the floor.”

INJURY REPORT

Denver

Jamal Murray – questionable (right hamstring inflammation)

Dario Saric – questionable (left ankle sprain)

Aaron Gordon – probable (right calf strain)

Vlatko Cancar – out (left knee surgery)

Trey Alexander – out (G League)

Spencer Jones – out (G League)

DaRon Holmes II – out (right Achilles tendon repair)

Washington

Saddiq Bey – out (left knee surgery)

Malcolm Brogdon – out (left hamstring inflammation)

Kyshawn George – out (left ankle sprain)

Corey Kispert – out (left ankle sprain)

Kyle Kuzma – out (left rib sprain)

Tristan Vukcevic – out (left knee contusion)