The Denver Nuggets weren't aggressive or physical enough last season defensively, and it resulted in too many easy buckets in transition and in the paint. Their poor paint defense was exacerbated by poor one-on-one and isolation defense, which is now a focal point of the defensive changes head coach David Adelman highlighted in his media day press conference. Thankfully for him, he's got a healthy Christian Braun and a defensively talented new rookie in Alpha Diallo who can unleash their talents to stop their opponents before they even get into the paint.
Aggressiveness and physicality were two of the bigger themes Adelman discussed, but his main concern on defensive end was how the Nuggets could improve their isolation defense.
"Where we got killed was in isolation, one-on-one, when the ball got advanced...people getting to the rim and scoring at will," Adelman said. "That is the biggest point of emphasis. It has to improve....we'll play people that can help us do that."
This is where a healthy Braun comes into play, and Diallo, the talented rookie defensive specialist who won the EuroLeague's Best Defender award last year.
Braun and Diallo will be essential to stopping drives to the rim
To be fair to Braun, he was hurt or recovering for nearly the entire season last year. His defensive numbers were down across the board. But Braun has the tools to give Adelman what he's asking for. Two years ago, in Braun's breakout campaign of 2024-25, Braun was in the 97th percentile in perimeter isolation defense and in the 88th percentile in off-ball chase defense, according to Basketball Index. Now at full health and looking like he spent time working on strength during the offseason, Braun should return to that form.
Diallo profiles similarly and will be a good fit to fill the defensive shoes of the now-former Nugget Peyton Watson. Diallo is an elite point-of-attack defender and was the top forward in points allowed per possession for AS Monaco in the 2025-26 EuroLeague, where he was commonly used to defend the other team's best player. He excels at man-to-man defense, and he's quick and physical. The 6-foot-7 forward uses his 6-foot-10 wingspan to help narrow the passing lanes, which is another strong plus for aggressiveness.
Defensive scheming will have to do the rest of the work to help close the 1v1 gap for the Nuggets. They should be in better hands this year thanks to the addition of veteran assistant coach Dave Joerger, who has a track record of improving defenses. And if it all comes together and the Nuggets stay healthy, they should easily improve upon their 21st-ranked defense in 2026-27.
Add us as a preferred source on Google