(Talk about a throwback ... almost 9 years since the last one of these)

It took a grand total of about 5 minutes after the Denver Nuggets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday for certain denizens to get out the knitting needles and ritualistically stab their eyes out in an act of contrition.

Well ... maybe not that bad.

Still, after the Nuggets managed to start the season 4-0 ... one can imagine it would continue forever. Of course that wasn't (and isn't) possible. However there are so many positives from the first week and change of Nuggets basketball that it really points to amazing things for this year IF they can hold it together without Will Barton.

The Nuggets early season schedule is favorable for stacking up wins before the torturous last 2/3 of the season. You win four out of every five you're doing pretty good aren't ya?

Losing to the Lakers isn't a terrible thing when you've won the previous four. If the Nuggets started out 0-4 or even 1-3 before they lost to the Lakers that would be one thing ... but they were rolling and to be quite honest they even acquitted themselves well in the loss outside of the last 5 minutes.

Don't fret Nuggets fans ... as my dad says "Don't present problems before they occur".