Nuggets Coach Explains What Happened in 'Really Bad' Loss to Grizzlies

Only six of the Denver Nuggets' 28 losses on the season have come against teams not currently in the play-in or playoff picture, but it always stings when a championship contender falls to a lottery team. On Wednesday, the Nuggets lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 125-118, marking one of their worst defeats of the season.

After the game, Nuggets head coach David Adelman explained what happened in the poor loss on Wednesday night when asked what they were missing.

"Energy, focus. Really bad loss for us," Adelman said. "I give them credit, they played super fast. They played how they play. There's no excuses for this. I knew we'd be somewhat tired and lethargic, but it's a long game. There's a lot of time to get yourself involved in the game, and I thought we just waited too long."

A "poor loss" for the Nuggets

Sure, things were difficult for the Nuggets on the second leg of a back-to-back, especially traveling from Denver to Memphis, but Adelman is not using excuses.

"It was a poor loss for us," Adelman continued. "I understand what happens with scheduling and all those things, but you can control turnovers, you can control getting back, you can control rebounding. The 29 fast break points, 12 offensive rebounds, a lot of areas we talked about this morning, we had to shore up to win the game. We didn't do it."

This was arguably Denver's sloppiest game of the season, and whether it was a matter of the back-to-back or undermining Memphis' ability, it was a very bad performance. The Nuggets committed 19 turnovers to the Grizzlies' ten, while giving up 27 points off those turnovers. They also allowed 12 offensive rebounds and 29 fast break points, as they were getting out-worked all over the floor.

Ty Jerome, especially, has his way with Denver's defense, dropping 21 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists on 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc. The Nuggets simply got outplayed on Wednesday night.

Ty Jerome vs Denver:

21 PTS
9 REB
9 AST

Joins Ja as the only Grizzlies with those numbers in under 30 MP. pic.twitter.com/DiFzLs8oNP
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 19, 2026

The Nuggets shot better from the field and from three-point range, while racking up 34 assists compared to Memphis' 22. On paper, many would assume the Nuggets escaped Memphis with a win, but the effort was not there.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic was especially sloppy, tying his career-high with ten turnovers in the loss. Jokic committed just as many turnovers as the entire Grizzlies team, doing a poor job of setting Denver up for success.

The Nuggets will have one day of rest before facing the Toronto Raptors on Friday, where they will be desperate to bounce back from such an upsetting loss. Denver is now in sixth place in the West at 42-28, and just 2.5 games ahead of the seventh-place Phoenix Suns. If the Nuggets do not clean things up, there is a real chance they fall into the play-in tournament.