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What’s Holding Denver Back?

By Mathew Huff

Dec 15, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone holds the ball during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 132-120. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 15, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone holds the ball during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 132-120. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 27, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27), forward Nikola Jokic (15) and forward Darrell Arthur (00) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Nuggets defeated the Suns 118-114. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27), forward Nikola Jokic (15) and forward Darrell Arthur (00) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Nuggets defeated the Suns 118-114. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Denver has slipped since the end of 2016, so what are 2 of the ingredients that have played a role in there struggles recently?

The Denver Nuggets snapped a 5 game losing streak in outstanding fashion in London. While the win was great, one cannot overlook Denver’s struggles.

They are finally healthy, seem to have found a starting rotation to stick with, and are one of the best offenses in the league. So what is exactly holding this team back, when just a couple weeks ago they were in prime position to sneak into the 8th seed?

There are 2 factors that constituted greatly to the Nuggets’ recent struggles. Those are defense and rebounding.

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The defense has been an issue all year long and almost every Nuggets fan knows that. On the other hand, their rebounding production has faltered just a bit since the beginning of the season. At the very beginning of the year, the Nuggets were the best rebounding team in the NBA and there was no question about it.

They still are actually. However, they have slipped in this department as of late averaging about 3 less rebounds than their average in their last 3 games. Now, yes, Denver is still the top ranked rebounding team in the league at 56.8 rebounds per game right now, but their 5 game losing streak is a symptom of them not using this strength as much as they should along with other factors.

Usually, Denver wins the rebounding battle by a large margin, but considering it doesn’t look like their defense will improve anytime soon, they must use their strengths to their advantage. Denver is 28th in opponent points per game and at this point of the season and I would not expect this to improve.

This means they cannot be content with beating the opposition out by a small margin in the rebounding battle, they need to at least have 8 or more boards than the other team each game. The Denver Nuggets strength is their front-court and they need to utilize their advantage on the glass to get back to winning ways.

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If they can accomplish this, then the Nuggets could be back in the conversation for sneaking into the playoffs once more.

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