The Nuggets were ranked No. 8 in the NBA in team defensive rating heading into Friday night, allowing 112.6 points per 100 possessions at the 36-game mark of the season. At the same time last year, they were a couple of points worse — enough of a difference relative to the rest of the league that Denver ranked 25th. Here are five reasons the Nuggets have improved defensively after winning a championship.
Swatson’s ascendance
The Nuggets’ continuity of the starting five from the previous campaign is undoubtedly helpful in terms of personnel. Any group of players should, in theory, become more cohesive and better communicators as they spend more time together. Denver’s starting lineup has checked that box thus far, as they are 1.2 points superior on defense.
However, the roster alterations provide greater insight. In addition to topping the club in individual defensive rating (108.9), Peyton Watson is taking the minutes of several 2022–2023 bench players. Bruce Brown and Jeff Green earned defensive ratings of 113 and 115 in those same minutes.
Watson is still essentially a rookie who is expected to guard the top players on the other team. He has a solid defensive field goal percentage of 42.7% when against players like De’Aaron Fox and Kevin Durant. He’s showing signs of becoming into one of the game’s top shot-blocking wings. Despite playing half as many minutes, he is currently averaging 0.9 points per game, which is more than Nikola Jokic. Additionally, he has recently earned a spot in Michael Malone’s closing lineup in a number of pivotal moments, demonstrating an unheard-of level of confidence in a player so young on such a great squad.
Limiting 3-pointers
From a schematic standpoint, the Nuggets are doing as well as they did the previous season. In terms of 3-point defense, the champions placed close to the top of the league. They are No. 5 in made 3-pointers allowed per game (11.3) and No. 3 in attempts allowed per game (31.5) so far this season, which is more significant than their opponent’s 3-point percentage of No. 10 (35.8%).
The coaching staff in Denver is aware of how the NBA has become increasingly 3-point focused over time. Therefore, the Nuggets are prepared to sell out, particularly when Jokic is on the court, in order to stop the three against the most prevalent play type in the league.
“We play Nikola a ton, and we’re outliers in terms of pick-and-roll defense,” Malone told The Denver Post. “A lot of teams have their center, their five-man, down the floor. We have our center up the floor a lot. We like to be impactful to the ball-handler. … That puts a lot of pressure on your weak side. So you have to have tremendous, multiple-effort, fly-around mentality.”
Thursday night, in a 130-127 regular-season classic against Golden State, the Nuggets won the game by relying on that weak side “fly-around mentality” during their most critical defensive possession. When Jokic noticed the ball screen approaching, he moved to take advantage of Steph Curry, even though it cleared the entire area inside the arc behind him (the Warriors had cleared out to both corners). In the end, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope battled his way around Chris Paul to double-team the all-time greatest 3-point shooter. Jamal Murray intercepted Curry’s pass while covering ground on the weak side.
Not a bunch of pickpockets
A consistent focus on providing suffocating, mistake-inducing pressure is a trait typically associated with strong defensive teams. Assemble the robbers. Take the offensive.
The Nuggets don’t operate in that manner. Conversely, they are allowing opponents to shoot only 46.2%, which is the ninth-best defensive field goal percentage in the NBA. They are also ranked 18th in terms of steals per game (7.1) and 26th in terms of opponent turnovers (12.5). In this regard, Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon remain the cornerstones of the starting lineup, together limiting opponents to 41.6% and stopping 20.8 shots per game.
On top of that, the Nuggets play disciplined defense and disrupt shots without fouling. They’re 10th in free throw attempts allowed per game (22.5) and seventh-best at preventing their opponents from drawing fouls frequently.
“You can play really good defense,” Malone said, “but if you put your opponent on the foul line 25-30 times a night, that’s gonna kill your defensive rating.”
Ratcheting it up in the clutch
As of Friday, the Nuggets had accumulated 63 minutes of “clutch time,” which is defined as circumstances in which the score is within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime. This information is derived from the NBA’s database.
What is their approach to the stakes? with the poise of a champion. With a clutch defensive rating of 101.5, the Nuggets are fourth in the league. They are eighth in terms of clutch defensive rebounding percentage. They are second in crucial 3-point defense (21.2%).
Another excellent illustration of this trait was the 18-point comeback against Golden State. Denver miraculously held the Warriors to 20 points in the fourth quarter, including four points in the final six minutes and thirty seconds, after giving up 44 points in a horrifying third quarter.
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