The Denver Nuggets have now lost six of their last seven games with their most recent loss coming in Milwaukee against the Bucks.
Instead of looking at specific takeaways from Denver’s loss to Milwaukee, these five takeaways will be about issues that not only plagued the Nuggets against the Bucks, but also how those same issues have hurt Denver over the past seven games.
Without further ado, here are my five takeaways from the Nuggets last six losses in seven games.
Gary Harris’ slump continues
Gary Harris has been the Nuggets most consistent and reliable player for the better part of the past three years, but throughout the first 17 games of the 2018-19 season, including against the Bucks, Harris has struggled in a big way.
Harris is shooting just 44.9 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from 3-point distance over the first 17 games of the season and both of those marks are the lowest since his less-than-stellar rookie season. Simply put, Harris has not been the embodiment of consistency that he has been for the majority of his career and that carried over into his performance against the Bucks. Harris posted 14 points and six assists, but shot just 6-of-16 from the field and was 2-of-6 from 3-point distance.
One of the looming reasons why Harris has struggled is the alteration in his role on offense. No longer is Harris just an off-ball cutter or spot-up shooter. This year, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has given Harris more freedom to play with the ball in his hands and that change has seemingly led to Harris’ drop in efficiency. The same was true against Milwaukee as Harris was essentially operating as Denver’s de-facto point guard for stretches. Harris struggled finishing at the rim all game and was just 4-of-10 when shooting inside the 3-point arc against Milwaukee. He had some pretty assists, but without Harris being a threat to score, the Nuggets offense has become bogged down.
Over the past three years, Harris’ made shots are being assisted on less and less each season and his usage percentage has risen as well. Inversely, his true shooting percentage has fallen each of those years. Statistically speaking, Harris is being asked to create his shot much more often this year and hit has led to him struggling to score.
Harris has been out of rhythm all year and Denver badly needs him to get back on track. He has improved as a threat with the ball in his hands, but right now that step forward has led to Harris’ effectiveness taking three steps back. Denver needs Harris to get back to being Mr. Consistent in a bad way if they want to get back to their winning ways.
Nikola Jokic struggles to take full control the Nuggets offense
The loss to the Bucks did a wonderful job of illustrating another way in which Jokic needs to improve.
In the second half, the Nuggets offense became rushed and forced. Instead of multiple passes leading to a great shot, the entire Nuggets roster began settling for average shots early in the shot clock. Once that trend began, Jokic became mostly just a screen-setting center who kept the ball moving instead of the dynamic playmaking savant that has made him such a dominant offensive force.
In those circumstances, Jokic has to reclaim control over Denver’s offense. If players like Murray, Paul Millsap, or even Harris are taking ill-advised shots, Jokic needs to be able to get into their ear, explain to them why the offense is sputtering, put an end to the restless offensive possessions plaguing the Nuggets, and take back control of the offense. Jokic is undeniably the best player on the Nuggets and he is one of the most gifted offensive players in the entirety of the NBA. Without Jokic accepting his role as the engine of Denver’s offense, the Nuggets scoring is going to come and go just as it has in the first 17 games of the season.
This is no easy task for Jokic. He has never been a demanding force within the Nuggets locker room, but for Denver to reach their peak — and to get their offense revitalized — they need their best player to take control.
There is a reason that the Nuggets offense has been dubbed “Jokic-ball” when it is firing on all cylinders and Jokic will have to forcibly take back control of the offense if they want to get back to being dominant like they once were.
Nuggets fail to execute in the third quarter…repeatedly
Over the past seven games — six of which Denver has lost — the Nuggets still have managed to post a positive point differential. They have played well for stretches, but the third quarter has been Denver’s downfall.
Over the past seven games, Denver is averaging just 25.7 points in the third quarter while shooting an abysmal 41.4 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from 3-point distance. Even worse are Denver’s third quarters on the road where they are averaging just 21.7 points on 35.9 percent from the field and 29 percent from 3-point range.
This same story held true against the Bucks. At halftime, the Nuggets lead by ten points, but once the third quarter ended, Denver suddenly found themselves trailing by one point. Milwaukee came out of halftime aggressive and motivated while the Nuggets failed to execute on offense or defense. That led to the Bucks outsocirng them 32-21 in the third quarter.
Great teams tend to put away their opponents in the third quarter of games. For Denver, they have allowed the opposite to be true. If the Nuggets want to get back on track, they will need to find a way to come out of halftime with more energy and urgency or they will continue to give away wins to their opponents.
Nuggets really need Will Barton back
The most vividly obvious way to remedy the Nuggets issues is to get a healthy Will Barton back. It has never been more crystal clear how important Barton is to this Denver roster than it is right now. Just think about all of the ways in which Barton would alleviate pressure from the entire Nuggets team.
Murray and Harris have had to shoulder a lot of the ball handling duties with Barton out and it has thrown them off of their games. Neither has looked comfortable on offense and it seems to be because of the change in their responsibilities. If Barton was healthy, he would take on the majority of the point guard duties and it would allow both Harris and Murray to go back to their natural off-ball roles.
The Nuggets starting unit has also needed more energy to begin both the first and third quarters of the game. Because of their sometimes lackadaisical approach, it has led to Denver playing from behind far too often. If Barton was healthy, his infectious energy and one-on-one scoring ability would help set the tone of the game and would also help pull Denver out of bad stretches.
Barton has been the emotional leader of the team for the past few years. Now, with Barton out, Denver desperately needs a leader on the floor to get things back on track when the going gets tough. Right now, it seems like Denver’s struggles start small and snowball into even bigger issues during games. There has not been anyone who has stepped up as a leader and forcibly placed Denver back on the right track, but if Barton was healthy, he would in all likelihood be the individual who would challenge his teammates to be better than they have been.
The Nuggets have a plethora of problems looming over their six-losses-in-seven-games stretch and it seems that Barton being healthy would fix the majority of those issues. Denver needs him back and needs him back fast.
Monte Morris continues to shine
No matter what is happening with the Nuggets, the one constant has been the strong play of Monte Morris.
Morris has been incredible for the Nuggets all year. He has been an absolute pest on defense, the best decision maker on offense, and he constantly is making winning plays that do not always show up in the box score.
Morris is averaging just 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, which is nothing to scoff at, but it does not even begin to tell the whole story of his overall impact. Seemingly every time the ball is in Morris’ hands, the offense generates a high-percentage shot and they almost never turn the ball over evident by his incredible assist-to-turnover ratio of 6.7 assists per every one turnover. In addition to his ultra-steady hand as a floor general, Morris is also shooting 37.8 percent from three-point distance and has been one of the best defenders for the Nuggets over the first 17 games of the season.
Morris has been the catalyst for the Nuggets on multiple occasions. He has helped the starting unit get back on track and is a major reason for Denver’s bench unit functioning at such a high level. While there have been a lot of issues over the past seven games for the Nuggets, Morris has not been one of them.