Another loss at home has called into question just how good the Denver Nuggets can actually be defensively.
It’s no secret that regression was incoming. The Nuggets played a low quality schedule early in the season, including some teams missing their star players. The Nuggets also benefitted greatly from opponent three-point shooting luck with many of those teams shooting below their usual standard against Denver’s defense.
That hasn’t held up over the last several games, and the Nuggets have developed into one of the worst defenses overnight after starting the season as one of the best.
The Nuggets lost to the Dallas Mavericks 131-121 on Monday night. It was their fourth home loss in a row, despite winning seven games in a row on the road.
It looked like the Nuggets were going to blow out the Mavericks after going up 21-4 in the first quarter. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were rolling. Spencer Jones nearly set a new career high in points in the first quarter alone. He finished with 28 points and was one of the lone bright spots.
But that all came crashing down in the second quarter. The Nuggets relaxed, gave up the lead, and got caught in a fight. Then, they lost Murray due to injury and couldn’t recover after that.
“We get up so quickly, we feel that the game is easier than it is and it’s going to stay that way,” Spencer Jones shared postgame. “We take the foot off the gas a little too early.”
Denver’s defense never really stabilized after giving up a ludicrous 42 points in the second quarter. The second half arrived and Denver still allowed a bunch of points on open shots. Denver’s giving up open looks on a consistent basis, and it’s allowing teams to get into rhythm.
Ultimately, it was the offense down the stretch that betrayed Denver the most. Nikola Jokic was in the midst of a stat-packed night, but his jumper dried up in the fourth quarter as he hunted fouls whenever he could. Cam Johnson, immediately after I wrote how good he’s been, struggled to replace Murray’s late game impact and poise. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored in volume but not efficiency.
And there’s only so many times you can throw Spencer Jones the basketball and hope he bails out the entire team.
The biggest concern by far is the defense. Giving up 131 points to a Mavericks team that ranked dead last in offensive rating is a new low point.
“It’s the NBA. When teams feel like they’re in the game, every team’s a good team,” head coach David Adelman shared postgame. “If they’ve seen the ball go in by the third quarter, they find their rhythm.”
Yes, the Nuggets have injury issues. No, that’s simply not a good enough excuse. Not to David Adelman in any case.
“I’m not going to come in here any night and talk about guys that are out. We have enough here to be more consistent defensively.”
Denver’s now lost four in a row at home to the following teams: Chicago Bulls on a SEGABABA, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs without Victor Wembanyama, and now the Mavericks without a bunch of players. It was Ryan Nembhard who dominated Denver tonight, along with the standard contributions from star big man Anthony Davis and rookie phenom Cooper Flagg.
Expecting the Nuggets to be great defensively is a bridge too far, but expecting them to be able to guard against that trio is extremely reasonable, even with injuries. The Nuggets simply didn’t do a good enough job rotating, communicating, playing with effort throughout the night, and finishing plays. The Mavericks made the Nuggets par for executing the game plan poorly, shooting 16-of-31 from three.
Denver’s in a bit of trouble. Jamal Murray suffered an ankle sprain tonight, tried to return to the game, and exited after the third quarter permanently. If the Nuggets are without Murray for an extended period of time on top of the absences from Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, then Jokic and Cam Johnson are in for a difficult stretch of games.
While players like Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson have now shown capability to step up in these moments, Denver still lacks ball handling creation. Adelman shared that he debated going to Jalen Pickett in the fourth quarter but decided it was too late in the game. If Murray is out for any amount of time, expect Pickett to get some opportunities as a creator with the ball in his hands to simplify the game for others.
Whether that works remains to be seen. The Nuggets are already a bad defensive team again. Becoming a less than elite offense makes it challenging to win from night to night. There’s a lot of pressure on Jokic now. It’s something he’s felt before, but now it’s extremely apparent. If he can’t play great basketball, the Nuggets are in trouble.
Next up, a three-game road trip to Indiana, Atlanta, and Charlotte.
