Troy Renck: The Warriors without Steph Curry are like peanut butter without jelly. The future Hall of Famer sat out Sunday’s game with a knee injury, joining Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis on the sideline. And Golden State still kicked the Nuggets in the nuggets. With 24 games remaining and Denver losing ground in the standings, it is time to ask: Even if healthy, will the Nuggets’ defense spoil a championship run?
Sean Keeler: I used to love watching the last six minutes of a Nuggets game, marveling at how Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray could twist NBA defenses into pretzel knots — even though those defenses knew what was coming. The end of that Warriors tilt was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Over the final 10:30 of that game, Denver got outscored 30-14, missed 12 of 19 shots and turned it over four times. The Warriors, meanwhile, drained 12 of 17 from the floor, including 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. Jokic put up an amazing stat line, but he looked lost over that final 10:30 — one field goal made, one rebound, one dime, 3 points and a minus-11. Teams have always hunted Jokic and Murray defensively. They’d just outscore you down the stretch. Now it appears as if everybody’s confidence is shot to heck. And the other team can’t stop shooting the heck out of the ball.
Renck: There is no defending how the Nuggets are defending. Patience was required when they were down four starters. But it just feels like an excuse now. Yes, Aaron Gordon is instrumental to Denver’s scheme. And Peyton Watson’s length is legitimate. But counting on two players with hamstring issues to rescue the defense seems more foolish than strategic. The Nuggets are awful at stopping or even slowing 3-pointers. The numbers reveal the truth. Over their last 10 games, they boast a 4-6 record. They have allowed 434 3-pointers and 157 makes. During that same time, the Nuggets have converted 136 of 350. For the non-math majors, the opponents have 84 more attempts. Yes, 84. That won’t work no matter who is in uniform.
Keeler: The heart says they’ll turn this around, surely. The head says to hide your eyes. Detroit? One of those red-hot shooting nights. OKC? One of those red-hot shooting nights. Golden State without Steph or Draymond or Jimmy B? One of those red-shot shooting nights. Look, when it feels as if every other team is having its best shooting night in a month when you take the court, I’ve got bad, bad news: It ain’t them. It’s you. Since Jan. 20, Denver is 0-7 against teams with winning records and 7-1 against everybody else. The problem? They’re not going to see “everybody else” in the playoffs, my friend.
Renck: Coach David Adelman addressed the defense as the Nuggets returned from the break. It is hard to fix the airplane while it is in the air, but practice gave them a chance to work on angles and scrambles. So if the scheme is sound, what is wrong? Sometimes it is effort. Sometimes, it is poor offensive rebounding that leads to runouts. But it feels like it is always something, especially in the clutch. There is no way the Nuggets are upsetting the Thunder or Spurs without tightening up on the perimeter. Maybe Adelman will shrink his rotation and be proven right by leaning on Gordon and Watson. But if the Nuggets don’t improve at defending the 3, they are going to be two-and-done again in the playoffs.
Keeler: A wiser hoops head than I, a former NBA veteran, told me recently that the Nuggets have become far too predictable late in games. Joker has never been, and probably never will be, a classic “rim-protector.” At his best, he’s a shot changer or a paint obstacle. When Denver’s been at its best defensively, it’s had two or three good on-ball defenders who could harass their respective shooters and “protect” Jokic by nipping any problem in the bud before said problem got into the paint. But Joker doesn’t seem to totally have his legs yet. Murray, for all he’s pulled this team through, is showing the wear and tear of having to carry this franchise on his back. Something’s got to change schematically. Insanity is doing the same thing, night after night, and expecting a different result. And Adelman is driving Nuggets Nation absolutely crazy.
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