The Warriors are far from the stiffest competition that the NBA has to offer. They have a losing record on the season, and they’re battling to move up from the 10th seed in the West as they’re destined for a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
The offense has been uninspiring for much of the season, and now playing without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Al Horford, and Moses Moody, things have gotten particularly grim for Golden State on that end of the court. They’ve been forced to rely heavily on the likes of Brandin Podziemski, Kristaps Porzingis, Gui Santos, Draymond Green, and others, which is hardly a recipe for offensive success in 2026.
And despite all that, it was extremely encouraging to see the Nuggets show up in a nationally televised game and hold an opponent to 93 points, with just 40 in the second half, winning, 116-93 going away.
Denver needed a defensive performance like this one, just to prove to themselves that they are capable of it, something that has become increasingly questionable with some recent showings.
Sunday night was very promising, as they limited the Warriors to just 42% shooting and 33% on threes. They only allowed 11 free throw attempts on the night, and they forced 15 turnovers, which led to 22 points.
If the Nuggets can play defense like this, they’ll win the title
This may sound simple, but if the Nuggets can play defense like this, they will win the title. Obviously, they aren’t going to play teams that are nearly this helpless on the offensive end of the floor in the playoffs, but this was more about a mindset, commitment to details, and an overall effort and energy level.
They can’t control everything, but they can control a lot. On Sunday night, they did, and the results were magnificent. Forcing 11 steals was a great sight to behold, and there’s no reason the Nuggets can’t pressure teams like this on a consistent basis.
Teams will shoot better than the Warriors did and take better care of the ball, but Denver doesn’t need to hold teams to 93 points every game. They have, perhaps, the best offense in the history of the sport, and if they can just play solid to slightly above average defense, that should be enough for them to win it all.
If they can go to a level above that, they may not even be challenged. That’s a lot to ask, and it would be foolish to read too much into one game against an average team. But the Nuggets just needed to show that they had this in them at all, and this win was a big step in the right direction.