The Nuggets have been a terrible defensive team this season without Aaron Gordon. Bottom third of the league, bad, or worse, at times. It's made it difficult not to get down on the team these last few weeks, as we've seen the Nuggets go 7-9 while Gordon's been out. However, it was Nikola Jokic's defense, or lack thereof, that caught the eye of NBA analyst Bryce Simon.
Simon appeared on the latest edition of the "Game Theory Podcast with Sam Vecenie," and he wasn't fond of the Joker's efforts defensively since coming back from a knee injury, which cost him 16 games, and has put him on the brink of failing to qualify for the MVP award.
Simon said, "Jokic’s defense is not very good. There are just too many possessions where he just refuses to leave his spot, and somebody goes right by him." Sure, the Joker has looked a bit gassed, but that doesn't tell the whole picture. And he's better than "not very good."
Jokic has the best defensive rating on the team at a cool 109.7, and as a whole, the Nuggets are sitting at 114.1, with a net rating of 3.6 since the three-time MVP ditched his street clothes 13 games ago. On the season, the Nuggets average 115.9
Gordon's return answers everyone's biggest question
Everyone is asking the same question. How will the Nuggets perform when Aaron Gordon returns from his hamstring injury? If it's anything like how they've performed with him on the court this season, Nuggets fans need not worry.
"I know the team is much better defensively when Aaron Gordon is on the court," proclaimed Simon. And he's not wrong. The Nuggets have a team defensive rating that is in the top-five with Gordon on the floor, and a bottom-third at best team rating without him at the end of the bench.
The Nuggets desperately need Gordon back, and we shouldn't have to wait long to get our answer. He's expected to return the first week of March.
Everything's magnified due to the clutch time woes
If the Nuggets hadn't gone 3-7 in clutch games since Gordon's been out, and 2-6 with the Joker back, we wouldn't likely be having this discussion. But the Nuggets' poor defense has been magnified because they've been playing so poorly to close out games.
If Jamal Murray makes a couple of free throws instead of missing them, or if James Harden misses a contested three, the Nuggets are 5-3 in their last eight clutch games and only two games back of the Spurs for the second seed in the West.
Instead, they're fifth and seemingly looking up at everybody, in danger of playing the first round of the playoffs on the road. At least they've got 20 games to get it together before the real season starts. If everyone's healthy and playing as they do with Gordon, then there's every reason to think there's a long playoff road ahead.