The Denver Nuggets were lambasted for their defense in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. Moreover, it was their lack of defense. And while the overall defensive rating hasn't changed much season over season, the starters have certainly improved. A lot. And the Nuggets are really only one David Adelman decision away from challenging for a top-10 defense. No, really!
The defense from the starting five of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, and Christian Braun looked great once again in the 116-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. And that's become a theme this year.
The Nuggets starters are vastly improved on defense
Last year, the Nuggets had the 21st-ranked defense at 116.0 points per 100 possessions. The starting core was just 117.0 in their injury-riddled 360-minute sample. Fast forward to this season, and the Nuggets are just 20th in defensive rating. But they've improved to a 114.7 rating as a team. However, the starters are much better than that.
Through 11 games and 130 minutes, the starting core has a defensive rating of 111.4, which would put them at 11th in the league. Jokic has been much more active this year on the defensive end, as has Murray, who's been doing it all on both sides of the ball. Murray even had 2 blocks against the Pelicans, bringing him up to 1.0 blocks per game for the year, well above his career average of 0.4. Murray's looked like an All-NBA Defensive team guard compared to what fans have seen in the past.
And it doesn't stop with the improvements Murray and Jokic. Braun has looked like the Braun on defense who helped earn him his large contract extension. Braun had 4 more steals against the Pelicans, and he's up to 2.2 steals per game, tied for second in the league behind back-to-back All-NBA Defensive Team 1 and 2 selection Dyson Daniels at 2.9.
Clearly, they've made vast improvements. So why is the overall defensive number so bad?
Adelman has to tweak the rotation
The data doesn't lie. When Tyus Jones comes on the court, the Nuggets' defense falls asleep. In 115 minutes, the Nuggets have a 125.8 defensive rating with him on the court. And it doesn't really matter who you pair him with. One such lineup example over the past four games since Spencer Jones has returned is really atrocious in its 15-minute sample. Tyus, Spencer, DeMar DeRozan, Trevon Brazile, and Jokic have been the closing unit of the first quarter for the past four games, and they've got a 144.8 defensive rating and a -44.8 net differential!
Adelman has got to take Tyus out of the rotation and either try out Ryan Nembhard or move DeMar DeRozan into the backup point guard role sooner or later. The non-Murray minutes are shrinking leads at the end of the first and third quarters.
But at least we know the starting core has flipped a switch this season. They just need to keep playing with that same fire for the rest of the way, and they'll be much more likely to get out of the first round of the playoffs by playing with the same fire they have now.
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