There's no question that the Denver Nuggets were pushed around and bullied by the Minnesota Timberwolves in their fleeting first-round playoff defeat last season. Nikola Jokic was bodied by Rudy Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels made sure to call out the Nuggets as bad defenders--all of them. One reason why it was so easy for the Timberwolves to get into the paint was a lack of physicality. It was a theme that head coach David Adelman talked about at media day, and it looks like the Nuggets got the point.
Almost all of the Nuggets showed up to media day looking like they had spent a good deal of time in the weight room during the offseason. Jokic looked substantially more fit than he did at the end of last year. Christian Braun looked more toned, and DaRon Holmes II looked like he was working out with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson every day. The Nuggets heard Adelman loud and clear.
Physicality will help shore up the defense
It was too easy for the Timberwolves to get into the paint in the playoffs. One step past the slower, weaker Nuggets defender, and it was an easy layup, even for the Wolves' backup guards and wings. And once they got into the paint, there was no one to stop them. But Jokic's leaner look should help him to move a little quicker, so he can disrupt the ball carrier this year. He's not going to be a shot-blocking rim protector, but if he can alter a shot by getting in front of the ball, it'll have nearly the same effect.
On the perimeter, it should be more difficult to get into the paint in the first place. Braun's ankle is fully healed, and he'll have the explosiveness and strength to stop the rim attack before it even gets into the paint.
New addition Alpha Diallo will also be pivotal for the second unit in shoring up the defense and stopping drives before they turn into an easy bucket. Diallo is a physical perimeter defender who excels at one-on-one play, which Adelman pointed out was a problem for the Nuggets last year.
But thanks to the hard work that the team has been putting in at the weight room during the offseason, physicality shouldn't be as much of a problem as it was last year. The team trained together and got the message. Now it comes down to scheming by Adelman and his assistants to put it all together.
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