The Denver Nuggets couldn’t hold onto a lead in the second half against the Chicago Bulls, losing 129-121.

After allowing 61 points in the first half, the Nuggets doubled down on porous defense and allowed 68 points, losing the thread of their game in the middle of the third quarter. A collection of Nuggets turnovers by Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook, and others allowed the Bulls a window back into the game, and they capitalized, cutting what had once been a 12-point Nuggets lead down to a 96-95 lead after three quarters.

Then, with Jokic on the bench, a lineup featuring Jamal Murray, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon allowed an 11-0 run, prompting a string of timeouts from Michael Malone. Denver couldn’t score, AND they couldn’t defend. If the Nuggets had been able to do either, they would have been fine, but three-point misses from the Nuggets off-ball options and several offensive rebounds allowed on the other end gave the Bulls everything they needed to steal the momentum.

From then on, the Nuggets simply couldn’t get enough stops to claw back into the game. They scored enough points after an initial dry spell, but it didn’t matter. Zach LaVine made three big three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the Nuggets made six three-pointers all game.

Nikola Jokic was at the center of both Denver’s successes and failures tonight. Jokic was incredible offensively especially in the first half, going 10-of-10 from the field and logging eight assists. He finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists, video game numbers against an undersized, defensively incapable Bulls frontcourt. There were some bad second half turnovers, but the offense was mostly incredible again.

Unfortunately, Jokic is one of the key reasons why the Nuggets allowed 24 made three-pointers tonight. Chicago went small with Ayo Dosunmu next to three guards/wings and Nikola Vucevic, and the Bulls simply ran five-out spacing and rained down hellfire on Denver. It wasn’t just Jokic, but his closeouts were most noticeable to me. Vucevic only shot 2-of-9 from three, but he had six assists, most of which came on rotations to perimeter shooters because Jokic wasn’t contesting Vucveic’s shot on the perimeter.

The Nuggets ran right into the game plan for the Bulls, and they didn’t have the defensive discipline to handle Chicago’s perimeter attack. That’s not just on Jokic, but he was at issue as well.

Christian Braun might be the one player on Denver that wasn’t at issue with his perimeter containment. He defended well, and he also set a career high with 28 points on 11-of-15 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range. Braun added five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block. The Nuggets were +4 in Braun’s 33 minutes and -12 in the other 15 minutes because there simply wasn’t enough discipline on either end of the floor to handle his absence.

Peyton Watson did make some impressive defensive plays in the first half, but he got burned on some relocation threes in the second half. Ayo Dosunmu in particular made four three-pointers (a great all-around guard that deserves to play on a contender) including one after Watson flew by trying to contest the initial shot. Watson’s finishing was bad today, missing multiple dunks and layups around the rim. For all the great work he does defensively, he must improve as a scorer and decision maker going forward to stay on the floor in the playoffs.

Overall, not a lot of positives tonight for the Nuggets.

Serious People

There’s a line in the TV show Succession where the main character, Logan Roy, belittles his family for not growing up and doing what’s right for the family business, instead focusing on their own emotions and self-interests.

“I love you, but you are not serious people.”

After a blowout loss like the Nuggets had against the Minnesota Timberwolves over the weekend, the Nuggets had an opportunity to rest, recuperate, and approach this matchup in a better way, trying harder on defense and executing the game plan. They simply didn’t. For whatever reason, the game plan discipline was sloppy, but the decision making was bad, and the effort in defensive transition and on the defensive glass was bad.

The Nuggets are down to 22nd in the NBA in defensive rating, per Cleaning the Glass. During the championship season, the Nuggets were up to 16th in defensive rating. The difference was they were the best offense in the NBA that year. This season, other teams have passed them.

Denver’s still fine if they straighten themselves out, but they’re not that team anymore. That team had stability and belief that they could lock in defensively when they needed to. And they did. With this team, there’s uncertainty, perhaps unwillingness to go that extra mile at this stage of the season. The Nuggets have now allowed 123, 133, and 129 points in the last three games. They’re not getting better. They’re getting worse.

So, are the Nuggets going to become serious people? We will see.

Final Rotations