Nuggets: How they can fix the defensive rotations

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 27: Emmanuel Mudiay
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 27: Emmanuel Mudiay /
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One issue for the Denver Nuggets has been their defensive rotations.

The Nuggets have been very inconsistent to start the season. They have look disjointed on the offensive front at times and their defense still has many holes in it.

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One key defensive problem has been the defensive rotations. Too many times have we seen the Nuggets get beat on pick and rolls or get confused and lost resulting in a wide open jump shot which comes back to bite them.

So exactly how do they solve this issue? Well, for starters, they need to start communicating with each other more effectively. This means calling out picks when they come and making the defense alert when someone cuts whether it be baseline or even beating a perimeter defender on a jab step which frees them up.

Another simple, but effective way is to simply switch on the screens. They did this effectively at the beginning of the preseason particularly against the Warriors where they forced the shooters into tough situations. This would help limit the wide open three pointers and help the Nuggets’ defense lower the gaps a bit whenever they are down in a game.

Denver is still going to have some growing pains while trying to improve this putrid defense, but one building point which could jump start this team is improving on the defensive rotations. They have the talent to be better in this aspect with defensive capable players like Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler and Paul Millsap.

Not to mention, helping on the rotations would help the defensive inefficiencies of offensive minded players like Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Next: Nuggets at Knicks recap

The defensive rotations need to improve if this team wants to eventually return to the post season. They can easily fix this problem, but it must be done very soon.