On the road again with a three-game road trip, the Denver Nuggets need to figure out a way to take their home court mojo and translate it to the confines of the Staples Center, Golden 1 Center, Toyota Center, and beyond.
Away from the Pepsi Center, the Nuggets are a dismal 2-4 this season and will take on the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacremento Kings, and Houston Rockets in their upcoming three-game road swing. There are a number of reasons as to why Denver has struggled on the road; similar to the abnormal early start to the season, integration of Paul Millsap, and other such comfort issues.
Regardless, the Nuggets are a different team when they hit the road and need to iron out their issues away from Pepsi Center to maintain ground in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
The defense has always been a weak point for Denver, but they have improved in some areas; specifically, on the interior, and in the pick and roll. With that, the team has seen a progressive improvement in defensive rankings; however, they still sit among the bottom half of the league in many critical defensive standings primarily because of their performance on the road.
Denver has a defensive rating of 103.1 at home; which is good for 14th in the league. Away from Pepsi Center their defensive rating spikes to 107.8 which ranks 21st. Defense is the pride and joy of head coach Michael Malone, so adjustments are expected in an attempt to up-the-ante on defense.
“When you go on a road trip you want to make sure your defense travels with you,” Malone said. “We have to make sure our defense comes on the road with us — starting in L.A.”
Denver is a strong rebounding team, but the splits — again — reflect a glaring dropoff when playing away from the Mile High City. The Nuggets average 35 defensive rebounds per game at Pepsi Center, making them the eighth best team in the NBA in that respect. On the road, the average falls to 31.2 rebounds, dropping Denver to 26th in the leaderboards.
It’s not just the defense that suffers; the Nuggets’ prolific offense has the third highest offensive rating in the league when playing in Denver, but falls back to 20th — with an offensive rating of 100.8 — outside of the Rocky Mountains, which is nearly an 11-point drop.
The Nuggets need to establish balance and find a level of consistency they can play with throughout the entirety of the season to achieve maximum production. That is a tough task for Malone, who has a roster with a thick blend of young and proven talent.
With 20-year-old Jamal Murray serving as the team’s starting point guard, Jokic and Millsap still continuing to gel, and Malone trying to raise the intensity on defense; things are currently like a rollercoaster for the Nuggets. There are a lot of moving parts with the team, but when they play at their pace — and in their element — they have shown they can be one of the premier units in the NBA.
The challenge now falls to Malone and his players to navigate their way through the wild Western Conference and cement themselves as a powerhouse yet again. This starts with continuing to take care of business at home while developing into a nightmare matchup for teams on the road.
“We just talked about it in the locker room; I said to our guys, ‘I’m proud of you. Another great showing on National TV but, more importantly, another home win in trying to make this place a special place to play,” Malone said following the team’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Pepsi Center.
The degree of difficulty in building a sound roster is immeasurable. It requires success in all facets — while playing in unison — with the same goals and mindsets. Building the Nuggets into a complete team will be a challenge, but one Malone and his players are ready to take on.
“Therein lies a challenge,” Malone said of his team excelling at home. “We are getting ready to go on a three-game road trip. We have not been the same team on the road. That’s our challenge moving forward. Can we go into L.A., and Sacramento, and Houston, and play the same way. Good teams protect their home court, but good teams also find a way to win on the road; that is something that we have yet to really do consistently.”