David Adelman Calls Out Nuggets' Energy Ahead of Warriors Game

The Denver Nuggets have now rattled off five straight wins following their 135-129 victory over the Utah Jazz, making for their longest win streak since earlier this season in December.

The Nuggets are healthier, getting better connected on both ends of the ball, and even while it may be in narrow fashion like this one against the Jazz, it's now resulted in Denver picking up a bit of momentum at the right time.

However, moving forward into the final seven games of the Nuggets' season, head coach David Adelman still sees a ton of room for improvement from his group––particularly as it concerns their energy at the start of games.

Adelman was asked about his message to the team headed into their weekend matchup against the Golden State Warriors, where finding that early game energy remained the key takeaway.

"Yeah, I just think our energy from the beginning of the game has to be better," Adelman after facing the Utah Jazz. "We’ve had a lot of slow starts as of late. Obviously, we’re very talented offensively, we can always make a run, get back in games, but we shouldn’t have to work our way into every game."

"You have to come with more purpose to start the game. I thought we were switching off the ball and our physicality was completely lacking [vs. the Jazz], which led to backcuts, layups, and that’s the way they play right now with the group that they have. You talk about that stuff and then you don’t go execute it, you give that team confidence."

"So, it has to be much better Sunday [vs. the Warriors], we know that. I want to give Utah a lot of credit, they played super hard, and they played extremely fast. It just wasn’t good enough on our end."

David Adelman Wants More Consistent Energy From Nuggets

Mar 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Nuggets dropped to as far as a 14-point deficit in the midst of what would be an eventual comeback victory over the Jazz. A nice feat to help Denver keep their winning ways alive for another night, but a situation that Adelman doesn't want to see his group fall into in the first place.

Thanks to an explosive scoring performance led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who each had 30 points and a triple-double and double-double, respectively, the Nuggets were able to claw their way back against a Jazz team that was without several of its key pieces in the lineup.

Of course, a win is a win. But for the Nuggets to continue to prove their status as one of the top contenders in the NBA, it'll have to come with high energy through all four quarters of play on a nightly basis, even if it might be in a matchup where they're facing against one of the lesser talents in the league focused on the lottery rather than playoff positioning.

The Nuggets will have the opportunity to do just that and extend their win streak against the Warriors this weekend, who will still be without the services of Steph Curry as he deals with a knee injury, yet are currently in the midst of a three-game win streak while he's out of the mix.

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