Nuggets' preseason opener makes biggest weakness crystal clear

Everything that happens in NBA preseason games should be taken with a grain of salt, but still, it was impossible to watch the Nuggets lose to the Timberwolves on Saturday night and not be concerned about the team’s defense. They allowed 128 points and seemed to offer very little resistance for most of the night.

Minnesota was dictating the terms when they had the ball, pushing the Nuggets around, and getting whatever they wanted. After the game, David Adelman was asked about the defense and stated, "Sitting down and guarding, keeping people in front, is a huge issue and it was tonight."

That’s not exactly what you want to hear from your head coach after just one preseason game. It’s one thing if guys are adjusting to new roles and a new scheme, especially with so much change in Denver this offseason.

But Adelman makes it sound like it’s more about the personnel. The Nuggets have struggled for years to keep opponents on the perimeter, and that issue popped up immediately on Saturday night and didn’t go away.

Denver needs much better commitment on defense

The Nuggets aren’t expecting Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic to make All-Defense teams or anything, but they need effort out of them. Jamal needs to at least make his opponent work, and Jokic must find ways to protect the rim.

But the guys around them need to be very good to make it all work, and that may be tough. For all the great things he brings to the squad, Cam Johnson isn’t exactly the best perimeter defender in the world. Tim Hardaway Jr. is questionable at best, and Bruce Brown doesn’t look like the same guy he once was.

Julian Strawther is never going to be heralded as a stopper either, so that leaves a lot on the shoulders of Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and Aaron Gordon. Those are the team’s clear plus defenders, and they are going to have to be nearly elite guarding on the perimeter to give the Nuggets a chance to compete.

That said, the other players need to give way better effort once the games count and at least battle to win possessions. Denver is going to be successful thanks to their elite offense, but if they want to win a title, they are going to have to find a way to be an above-average defense at the very least. Through one preseason game, it looks like that is going to be a major challenge.