Well, that was much better. Okay, there's still a little ironing out to do for the Denver Nuggets' defense, specifically the starters, but they looked much better in their 117-106 victory against the Utah Jazz in the second game of the preseason. Especially during an explosive 41-point, net positive 13-point second quarter that saw Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson take over for the Nuggets' offense.
Gordon finished the first half with 18 points before he and the other starters took a seat for the entire second half, but they left the team in good shape going into the break by playing the best defense we have seen them play thus far in the preseason. And if they can keep up that level of performance, they'll be much tougher to beat as the season rolls on.
The Nuggets' starters were making shots difficult for the Jazz
The first quarter didn't look great on defense at all. The Nuggets allowed multiple drives into the paint that resulted in kick-out threes or easy lob dunks. Same old, same old, and it was enough to make you cringe. But in the second quarter, something changed. Christian Braun, who's got the bounce in his step back this year, had a nice block, as did Jamal Murray.
Murray also had a nice steal off a Nikola Jokic deflection that led to a Johnson dunk on the other end. Jokic and the Nuggets' defense started trapping the Jazz more than they had done before, and that burst of energy became a boost on the offensive side of the court as well.
Now, if the starters can just keep up that level of defense moving forward, they could really change the perception of the "bad defenders" label bestowed upon them by the Minnesota Timberwolves' Jaden McDaniels during the first round of the playoffs last year.
The offense started to click after the defense started working
It's almost as if playing tougher defense made the Nuggets remember who they were, because they were much more efficient offensively as well. And the production wasn't even from Jokic and Murray, who combined for just 10 of the Nuggets' 65 first-half points. Johnson had 10, and Braun chipped in 5, but it was AG's 13 in the quarter that really stood out. Gordon looked like his old self, not hobbled by any lingering injury, and he carried the spark in typical Mr. Nugget fashion.
All in all, it was a well-rounded performance from the starters in the second quarter. I'm sure they'll review the game tape and make sure to try to repeat that performance more often.
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