NBA Notes: Nuggets, Cam Johnson, Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Wolves

Nuggets

The Nuggets look like a serious threat to the defending champs, and that’s with Cameron Johnson still trying to find his footing.

As ESPN’s Tim MacMahon pointed out, Denver is sitting second in offensive efficiency and third in net rating while Johnson is at just 9.4 points a night and shooting a chilly 33.3 percent from deep. That’s nearly 10 points below his career average.

The good news? He might finally be snapping out of it.

Johnson has looked much more like himself since resting a right biceps strain, averaging 14.5 points over his last two outings and shooting 9-of-17 overall and 5-of-8 from three.

Denver needs more of that, especially with Christian Braun out at least six weeks due to an ankle sprain.

If Johnson joins the party, the Nuggets might leap from “dangerous” to “terrifying.”

Thunder

It’s tough to poke holes in a team that’s 17-1 without Jalen Williams logging a single second. The defending champs are on a historic pace again, outscoring opponents by an absurd 16.3 points per game.

For comparison, they set the all-time record last season at plus-12.9. They’re blowing that away.

Per MacMahon, Oklahoma City owns the league’s best defense by a laughable distance, giving up just 103.1 points per 100 possessions.

The gap between OKC and No. 2 Detroit is basically the same as the gap between the Pistons and the 22nd-ranked Jazz.

And it’s so lopsided that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t even needed to play the fourth quarter in more than half their games. That’s how dominant they’ve been.

Timberwolves

Minnesota’s depth helped fuel two straight trips to the conference finals. Losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker (to the Hawks) has exposed that soft spot.

They’re 28th in both bench minutes and bench scoring, per NBA Advanced Stats, via ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.

Naz Reid has been excellent at 13.1 points per game, but the Wolves need someone else to step up.

Their 2024 first-rounders — Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. — haven’t broken through yet, while both are shooting under 40 percent effective field goal percentage. Shannon is also dealing with a bone bruise in his left foot.

Jaylen Clark might be the closest thing to an internal fix.

The 2023 second-rounder is defending well and shooting 36 percent from deep, but if teams don’t respect his jumper, keeping him on the floor late in playoff games becomes tricky.