The Denver Nuggets are an offensive juggernaut. They're averaging 128.1 points per game over their last 11 games, and they're looking like the Nuggets of old. But they're lacking in a critical discipline that all championship teams have: defense.
The Nuggets allowed 129 points at home to the tanking Utah Jazz, who shot an absurd 55.8% from the floor thanks to a layup line that started in the first quarter and continued until there were about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. It led to an astonishing 84 points in the paint for the Jazz, who led by as many as 10 with 5:30 to go.
The Nuggets rallied back to win 135-129, partly because the tanking Jazz chose to sit their best two available players, Kyle Filipowski and Brice Sensabaugh, for the entire fourth quarter. And in the clutch over the final five minutes, the Jazz almost seemed to get a memo from the bench to start shooting jumpers and preserve the tank status.
The Nuggets will take the win, but they've got to fix the defensive issues.
Championship teams play some defense
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending NBA champions, and they got it done last year with a defense-first approach. The Thunder had a defensive rating of 106.6 last year, and that has continued this season. They have the number one defense again, with a 106.3 defensive rating, compared to the Nuggets' 21st place, 116.2.
The Nuggets were at least ranked 15th with a 113.5 rating in their championship season of 2022-23. However, in the playoffs, that number did fall to 110.2, a much better number. That's the improvement the Nuggets will need to make this year to advance in the playoffs.
Nuggets are aware of the lack of defense
After the game, Nikola Jokic, who has been on a heck of an offensive run over the last few games, noted the Nuggets' poor defensive effort.
"I mean, we didn't play any defense, especially in the beginning of the second half," Jokic said. "They were just attacking, basically layup after layup."
Jamal Murray, who had yet another stellar performance for the Nuggets, and is proving the worth of his large contract extension, said after the game, "Defensively, we've got some work to do."
At least the Nuggets are openly admitting to the defensive flaw everyone saw on the court against the Jazz. They have to get that corrected over the next seven games before the playoffs start, or their championship hopes are likely going to hit a snag.