Denver Nuggets: Turnovers and “soft” play stifled offense

The Denver Nuggets let a mediocre team in the Cleveland Cavaliers beat them like a drum on both ends of the floor on Monday night. They were never able to get in a groove and lost their first game of the young season.

Denver’s largest lead was just one point compared to the Cavaliers’ 17-point advantage. An embarrassing night was highlighted by an all-around sloppy effort; the offense continued to struggle with shooting the ball (23.7 percent from beyond the arc), losing the battle on the glass, and in the paint (outscored 56-46).

The most glaring stat was the fact that the team was equal with the same number of assists as turnovers at 21. In the post-game press conference, head coach Michael Malone called the team “soft” and said they were “too hesitant and scared to attack” (on the offensive side of the floor).

While the Cavaliers are improved with standout first-round draft picks Isaac Okoro and Evan Mobley, the Denver Nuggets made them look like they would contend for a playoff spot this season.

Okoro was able to make life hell for all the undersized guards the Nuggets threw on the wings. As a team, the Nuggets seemed to be startled by the length Cleveland had in the paint and the plethora of big men they threw at Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets started the fourth quarter only down by five, but the bench lineup Malone threw out quickly allowed an 8-0 run in the first three minutes. He has to figure out a more balanced lineup that allows for more offensive weapons. In the press conference, Malone also hinted at having a lineup that is more willing to run the floor and play fast.

The offense is single handily being carried by the wizardry of Nikola Jokic and Facundo Campazzo. While Jokic is up for the challenge most nights, tonight he endured three skilled big men in Jarrett Allen, Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen who seemed to wear on him down low.

The Nuggets were desperate for a second and third 20-point scorer but the entire offense  struggled.

While this is only the first loss of the season it was not exactly a moral victory either. The Nuggets need to figure out these energy and sloppy offensive problems soon, with two games against formidable Western Conference teams coming up this week in the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks.

The rest of this article features scouting reports on how each positional group fared in this matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let’s kick it off with the guards, starting with debut rookie Bones Hyland.

Denver Nuggets: How did the guard rotation look against Cleveland?

Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland

Bones Hyland was one of the few bright spots on the night as he shines in his debut. During his ten minutes, he was 3-5 from the field, came away with a steal, two assists, and was a +3 during his time on the court.

He showed off his high-level scoring from all over the court, putting the ball on the floor and even showing off an ability to create for his teammates.

The first bucket of his NBA career was very impressive; he took the ball on a dribble hand-off, turned the corner, got downhill, and rose up when he got to his spot before the free-throw line. On the very next play, he got an open 3-point look that he drained from a pair of amazing passes from Campazzo and Austin Rivers.

I was very impressed with how comfortable he seemed against the NBA pace, especially with his ball-handling and ensuring his passes were crisp and on time. He did a lot of little things right, whether it was his positioning as an off-ball defender or running the floor hard. Hyland will make Malone’s life a bit more difficult as he begins to find his rotations.

His quick scoring gave the Nuggets a bit of life as Jokic sat, however, I don’t think he’s his most effective when he is paired with two undersized guards and two-hybrid forwards to run a small-ball lineup. I think his best lineup will come as he is paired with Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Campazzo. This allows them to still switch most pick-and-roll situations and has two high-level athletes to come over as a help defender and the MVP to protect the paint.

I am truly excited to watch him develop and get more minutes within the Nuggets system. If he can become half of the defender Austin Rivers is, he has a chance to move Morris down the rotation and become the starting two-guard or maybe the point guard next to Will Barton.

In his rookie season, his more natural position to be the sixth man since the Nuggets have a plethora of solid guards off the bench.

Facundo Campazzo

Facundo is quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch on a nightly basis. The energy he possesses and brings to the team is palpable.

While he didn’t shoot the ball efficiently, he was good at creating for his teammates in the second unit. I love watching him manipulate ball screens and turn the corner and create easy looks for the rolling big or an open shooter by picking apart the defense.

His pestering defense made life hell for the quick and inexperienced backcourt of the Cavaliers, as he had his way with most of them by sliding his feet and beating them to the spot much as he did against Chris Paul in the first game of the season.

Campazzo showed a little bit of dog in him as well, getting chippy and in the face of fellow FIBA standout, Ricky Rubio. He was getting underneath his skin all night by out-hustling him to loose balls and getting underneath him when he played with a live dribble.

He has to become a more efficient shooter off the dribble, especially in the midrange. The team looks to have little direction tonight, and if he would have shot the ball more and put pressure on the defense a bit more things could have opened for the Nuggets.

With his great chemistry with Jokic and the rest of the team, I think he should be the starting point guard going forward. When Jamal Murray is able to come back, he should slide back to leading the bench. He is more mature and better defensively than Monte Morris and should be leading the team and controlling the offense with the Joker.

Will Barton

Will Barton has done his job well to start the season, taking care of their opponents’ better offensive guard for most of the time. In his 31 minutes, he shot 5-9 from the field but only 1-4 from deep. He seemed a bit hesitant against the Cavaliers.

He did have one bright spot ending the third quarter in which he attacked Mobley in the full court and drew his fourth foul on him and finished the layup. It seemed to give the team momentum; however, it was not enough to push them over the edge.

He struggled with turnovers as did most of the team, but it seemed to be because he was out of control. In the full court, there were instances in which he was running coast-to-coast, got into the paint, and passed back out beyond the arc, and killed their chance to get an easy bucket on the break. It almost seemed like he was second-guessing his chances at the rim against the oversized Cavaliers team.

His hesitancy was not only evident in the full court, but in the half as well. He didn’t use ball screens well, especially with Jokic. I would like to see him work on turning the corner hard and threatening to attack the rim and force the defense to collapse. It will allow Jokic to pop out if the big man comes to contest or find another shooter on the backside of the defense.

Monte Morris

Morris struggled in his 27 minutes tonight mostly as the lead point guard. He only shot the ball four times, and only one 3-point opportunity.

While he’s known for his ability to slash and create from his drive and kick ability, I am still worried about his overall hesitancy with the ball in his hands.

Morris has been up and down with his shooting, especially beyond the arc in the first week of the season. While he doesn’t necessarily need to be a sniper, he needs to be willing to take the shots and put pressure on the defense at all three levels to space the floor efficiently with Jokic on the floor.

Morris showed a decent ability to defend Collin Sexton, he matched his speed and used his body to bump him from his spots. At times he gets crushed by screens and can get lost trying to find his rotation on the defensive end of the floor. If he wishes to continue starting, he will have to continue to defend at a high level but also become a more confident offensive weapon.

Denver Nuggets: Assessing the wing rotation against the Cavs

Jeff Green

Jeff Green is such a great utility player to have and is a perfect fit in this Denver Nuggets system. I love the veteran presence and energy he brings the team when he hits the floor. His ability to do everything well on both ends of the floor will allow the team to continue to play him in big minutes.

Whether he’s clamping up athletic wings and powerful forwards, knocking down shots, or attacking the rim off the dribble, Uncle Jeff is always doing the little things and always seems to be playing winning basketball.

He is a strong post defender and he made life for the 7’1″ Mobley difficult by getting his hands in when going up for shots around the rim.

Green’s strong and never allows any easy looks in the paint. He even almost posterized the rookie off the short pick-and-roll with Campazzo but couldn’t get the dunk to fall.

While he did not shoot the ball well, he was confident and forced the defense to come out and contest him. When he realized his shot was not falling, he worked to attack the basket and get to the line or look for his shots in the midrange. I hope Aaron Gordon is soaking up everything he can from him because he could begin to do all of the little things that Jeff does and become an even more effective player.

Jeff Green is playing a ton of minutes early in the season, and while he is very productive and getting more comfortable with the system, I am worried about his overall wear and tear as we move further down the season.

This past season, he was kind of able to hide deep on the bench in Brooklyn and turned it on come playoff time. As a veteran it is likely he will flip the switch come playoff time, but the 35-year old’s health is something to keep an eye on.

Michael Porter Jr.

Michael Porter Jr. had a very poor showing, and I would not be surprised if he was the focal point of Michael Malone’s comments post games about not staying engaged and not giving it his all.

As Malone said to Mike Singer, The Denver Post:

"“We got some guys that are just kind of moping around, jogging around out there, kind of looking sorry for themselves.”"

In the second half, he seemed reluctant to shoot the ball at all and was content sitting in the corner and waiting for the ball to come to him.

In a night where the Denver Nuggets could have used a breakout performance, Porter went 4-14 from the field and finished with a -10, tied for third-worst on the team. He did manage to knock down three out of the team’s nine 3-pointers made.

When he was thrust back into the game with nine minutes remaining down 13, Porter should have demanded the ball and looked for his shot or to operate the pick-and-roll with Jokic. He managed to hit a deep 3-pointer near garbage time, and his next shot from the corner went off the side of the backboard.

The entire team seemed to be inefficient tonight and it is possible they were feeding off each other’s nervous energies. Porter did have some impressive plays, especially on the defensive end coming up with a blocked jump shot in which he used all of his 6’10” frame to get there.

I wish he was a stronger defender in the paint, his length could have disrupted Mobley or Allen when the Cavs went with a ‘Twin Towers’ lineup.

He also displayed some impressive passing skills, including an absolute dime of a one-handed pass while being doubled. He went up for a shot and passed over the defender’s arms in the lane to Jokic for an easy layup.

Denver Nuggets: Looking at the big rotation against Cleveland

JaMychal Green

JaMychal Green showed he has all the tools to make it as an undersized center. He is the ideal modern small-ball center and makes the game scrappy and entertaining most nights. However, against the massive lineup, the Cavaliers threw at the Denver Nuggets all night Green seemed to be no match.

Normally, his ability to control the basketball, defend down low, and stretch the floor is a weapon and allows the Nuggets to run a similar perimeter-centric offense that they do with Jokic on the court.

Green is also an incredibly smart screener who knows how to stonewall an opponent in his tracks. He creates plenty of space in the pick-and-roll and works well creating separation for Campazzo to get downhill and turn the corner. Green works well as the backup big or at the power forward spot next to Jokic if necessary.

The Nuggets need him to start fighting harder on the boards. With only five rebounds over the first three games, it is clear he is not doing what is necessary to get loose balls. He has also struggled with turnovers over the first three games with eight.

Aaron Gordon

Aaron Gordon struggle from all over the floor tonight, shooting 5-14 from the field and only 1-5 from beyond the arc. When he is able to get to the rim, he gives the team a spark by attacking the basket and getting tough buckets around the rim. He is such a fun screener to watch, especially when setting a pick for Nikola Jokic and rolling hard.

While the offensive struggles continue for the young forward, his inconsistency defensively is what is the most frightening. He got scored on by Kevin Love with ease from all three levels. Whether it was him getting manipulated by his triple threat moves in the mid-post or getting shot over the top of beyond the arc. Love came in and scored 22 points on an efficient 8-13 from the field.

Aaron has to work on getting up in defenders and using his athleticism to slide feet and stay in front of them. He truly needs to work with Campazzo and take notes from him in that department defensively. He was beaten off the dribble by all the Cavaliers’ starting guards, especially Ricky Rubio. He seemed to be switch-hunted by Cleveland.

His sloppy play continued on the offensive side of the ball; he had a sloppy turnover off the inbounds pass that effectively ended the game with three minutes left. He finished the game with three turnovers. He knocked down a 3-pointer early, which seemed to give him the green light to jack up shots, up until he air-balled a wide-open shot on the fast break.

Nikola Jokic

Nikola got off to a shaky start in this game and had his battles with the turnovers, finishing the game with six. To start the game, he threw a lazy cross-court pass that was stolen by Markkanen and then taken coast-to-coast and was promptly dunked on by the skinny forward.

As now the only consistent offensive weapon, Jokic has to take care of the ball and lead by example of not making lazy passes and coming out of the gates hard and setting the tempo.

Despite his offensive mistakes that seemed a little more common tonight, Jokic was the primary bright spot in the offense. He finished the game with an efficient 24 points on 9-15 shooting from the field. The current MVP really made his mark in the paint tonight, grabbing 19 rebounds and fighting off the gigantic Cavaliers lineup.

In a night where Jokic was worn down in the paint by constantly having to grab every rebound but also keep three seven-footers off the glass. The Cavs started Markannen at the small forward position. Jokic had 18 rebounds through three quarters. The team should have fought harder to box out and made a bigger team effort to grab boards instead of running in transition.

The MVP is such an incredible player to watch, whether he is running the fast break like a guard or tossing lobs off the pick and roll, Jokic is making the Denver offense go around. He also dominated on the block and seemed to score with ease on defensive superstar Jarrett Allen with easy bunny hooks and post moves.