The Denver Nuggets must be breathing a sigh of relief after rallying for a 135-129 victory over the tanking Utah Jazz to stay in the hunt for the Western Conference's No. 3 seed. But unless they patch up their leaky interior defense that allowed Utah to record 84 points in the paint, they might have shown possible playoff opponents how to beat them in a seven-game series.
Sure, with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets have a chance to come out on top of any matchup. Both are capable of blowing up on offense on any given night. To wit, Jokic had 33 points and 12 assists against the Jazz, while Murray finished with 31 and 14.
However, the tandem also deserves part of the blame for the Jazz putting up the most points in the paint against Denver in a contest since the 1996-97 season.
The Jazz surprisingly feasted in the shaded area
Maybe if the Nuggets faced an opponent like the Detroit Pistons, giving up over 80 points inside the paint would have been understandable.
But, no offense to the Jazz and their fans, Denver shouldn't have allowed four Jazz players to score at least 10 in the key. Kyle Filipowski had 20, Cody Williams had 18, John Konchar had 16, and Kennedy Chandler had 10. Ace Bailey needed just one more field goal inside the paint to become the fifth to log double-digit scoring in that area.
The lack of resistance at the rim nearly cost the Nuggets the dub. They trailed 105-98 entering the fourth quarter, but Tim Hardaway Jr. proved his value anew to the franchise by pouring in 11 of his 21 total points in the period. Cameron Johnson and Murray also connected on a flurry of 3-pointers late in the game to seal the win for the home team.
After extending their win streak to five, the 47-28 Nuggets remain 1.5 games behind the third-place Los Angeles Lakers and increased their lead to a full game over the idle Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Nuggets are running out of time to fix a key weakness
A potential dilemma the Nuggets now face is that the team they draw in the first round of the playoffs could have scouts preparing films of their inability to contain Utah's layup line on Friday.
The thing is, each of their possible opponent has multiple players who can attack the basket. Los Angeles has Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James. Minnesota has Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle. The Houston Rockets have Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, and Alperen Sengun.
Even if the Nuggets come out alive of the first round, their likely conference semifinals matchup would be either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs. As such, they need to clean up their defensive miscues and put up a wall inside the paint.
In many ways, it boils down to Jokic's leadership, effort, and mental fortitude. The following games could show us whether the Serbian superstar is up to the task of helping improve his squad's rim protection.