Nuggets trying to get over "hangover" as All-Star break approaches

A little more than a week ago, the Nuggets celebrated perhaps their most rewarding win of the season by dousing their head coach in water and breaking out their post-game huddle with a phrase that’s morphed into an unofficial team motto: “Party time.” The Nuggets, who beat the Timberwolves 107-106 on Feb. 2, had several reasons to feel good about themselves. They’d just eked out a come-from-behind win over the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year as well as clinched Michael Malone a spot as head coach of Team LeBron at All-Star Weekend.

As sweet as that moment was, Malone had a hard time relishing it Sunday.

“If I could do it over again, I don’t want it because maybe we don’t have a hangover and lose three games in a row,” he said. 

Denver followed up its win in Minnesota by dropping three straight games to Detroit, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. By the end of the four-game road trip, a team that was giving Gatorade baths grew introspective, specifically about its defensive lapses.

“The defense the last three games was nowhere to be found, and that’s on everybody,” Malone said. “We have to be much better starting tomorrow against Miami and coming out of the break with 25 games to go.”

The Nuggets are allowing 127 points per game on this three-game slide. The Pistons, Nets and 76ers combined to shoot 52 percent from the field and 48.4 percent from 3. Overall, Denver has slipped to 15th in defensive efficiency after spending the early part of the season in the top five.

“We don’t talk,” Malone said. “Our lack of communication is comical at times. How hard is it to say, ‘Switch? Screen?’ We don’t do that sometimes. But the 3-point defense is really the most alarming for me.”

On Wednesday, Brooklyn rained 19 3s on Denver. Eleven of their makes were what the NBA considers “wide open,” meaning the closest defender was 6 or more feet away. This Allen Crabbe trey from the left wing is a perfect example of why Malone was frustrated with his team for not talking. All Crabbe does is shoot 3s; out of the 265 shots he’s taken this year, 179 have come from behind the arc. That was almost definitely communicated on the scouting report, but Monte Morris and Juancho Hernangomez still flubbed this dribble handoff in the third quarter.

A handful of Denver’s veterans spoke up after the loss to Brooklyn. Will Barton didn’t divulge any details of what was said and classified the post-game discussion as “dialogue” rather than a “meeting.”

“Dialogue is always healthy between your teammates because we’re all out there going to war together and for each other,” Barton said. “Any time a guy can say how they feel, you move past it and onto the next thing. Now it’s about actions. Going out there and doing what we talked about.”

Dec. 5 marked a turning point for the Nuggets defensively. That night, they needed overtime to get past a bad Magic team, which drilled 20 3s. Opponents are shooting 37.5 percent from 3 since then. Up to that point, they were hitting at just a 31 percent rate, then the lowest mark in basketball.

Luck was a factor in the Nuggets’ improved defensive numbers the first month and a half of the season. Health also played a significant role. Paul Millsap and Gary Harris, arguably the team’s top two defenders, have both missed considerable time. Millsap, who’s questionable Monday vs. Miami with right ankle soreness, didn’t play in Detroit, Brooklyn or Philadelphia. Harris, meanwhile, missed the entire road trip with a right adductor strain and isn’t expected to be available in Denver’s final two games before the All-Star break.

“You guys know me. I’m not a guy who makes excuses. But the reality is we have a really banged up team,” Malone said. “And the guys that are able to play right now, I’d love to know how many of those players have played a career high in minutes right now with 27 games to go. I think fatigue is starting to show its ugly head, but we can’t use that as an excuse.”

To answer that question: Four Nuggets have already logged career highs in playing time. Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez and Torrey Craig are all above the 1,200-minute threshold for the first time in their careers, and they rank a respective third, fourth, fifth and sixth in total minutes on Denver’s roster.

“Once we put everything back together, we’ll be even more dangerous,” Barton said.

After the All-Star break, the Nuggets could finally roll out the Jamal Murray-Gary Harris-Barton-Millsap-Nikola Jokic starting five that last played together Oct. 20 once again. Isaiah Thomas, who’s missed the last 10 1/2 months while recovering from hip surgery, is also close to returning, though he won’t play Monday.

The Nuggets (37-18) are in second place in the West even though we have no idea what they look like fully formed. As frustrating as the last three games were, Malone still likes what he sees when he zooms out and looks at the big picture.

“We put ourselves in a great position,” Malone said. “Hopefully, we can go into the break with two quality wins against Miami, against Sac(ramento), get some rest and then come out of it ready for that stretch run.”