How can the Nuggets’ defense excel?
Denver seemed to have their most success against Kawhi when doubling him and in the series against Utah, they seemed to have plenty of success when running a zone defense that prevented their players from being on an island defensively. Although the Clippers have a few zone-busters in terms of guys who can operate from midrange, a mix of these two defenses might be the best way to contend against Kawhi, George and the Clippers.
Another way to improve their defense is to minimize the minutes that Paul Millsap plays this series. He’s too slow to defend either Kawhi or George, and it seems that he’s too slow to guard even Marcus Morris at this point in his career. While Gary Harris had the team’s worst defensive rating in Game 1 (142.9), Millsap’s defensive rating (130.0) was the fourth-worst on the team.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has shown loyalty and confidence in his players but at this point, it’s time to sit players like Millsap more often, because he’s been having subpar performances far too often for it not to be indicative of a serious issue. That extends to Jokic whose defensive effort was once again an issue.
If Gregg Popovich can sit Tim Duncan when he feels it’s best for the team defensively, Malone can sit Jokic.
Much like with the Jazz, the Nuggets also have to win the minutes when the two teams’ second unit are on the floor. A large part of that will be finding a way to contain Montrezl Harrell, who scored 15 points in 19 minutes in Game 1.