Nuggets Film Room: Inside Denver's defensive turnaround

All Gary Harris could do when asked about the Nuggets’ defensive progress was shake his head and laugh. Denver’s starting shooting guard needed a moment to find the right words to describe the transformation his team has made.

“Better,” he said finally. “A lot better, for sure. It’s been an emphasis.”

The Nuggets had just taken a shot on the chin from the Celtics in the first half — Boston built an 18-point lead — but came out on top anyway, 115-107. The win bumped Denver’s record to 9-1 — its best start to a season since 1976-77. To the surprise of many, the Nuggets primarily have their defense to thank for this hot start. They’ve held five of their first 10 opponents to under 100 points, and overall, they’re allowing 101.8 points per 100 possessions, the second-best mark in the league.

In Harris’ first four seasons, the Nuggets never finished better than 23rd in defensive efficiency. So why has there all of a sudden been a breakthrough? If you ask Denver’s players and coaches, the answer is simple: They’re trying harder, and they’re more focused.

“We haven’t come up with a grand master plan,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.“We do what we do. We just do it harder (and) better and for longer stretches.”

Treating every game like it’s No. 82

Last season, it didn’t take much to find holes in the Nuggets’ defense. Move the ball enough, and it was a given that their desire or focus would wane. In March, Denver scored 141 points in a double-overtime game against Miami…and still lost by eight. Too often, the Nuggets just didn’t look they were on the same page. That’s no longer the case.

Now, all five players on the court operate on the same wavelength. Watch how the Nuggets successfully defend a back screen, dribble handoff, ball reversal and dribble penetration in the possession above. That’s a lot of actions to navigate. The possession ends with Gary Harris swiping Gordon Hayward. The Celtics torched the Nuggets for 34 first-quarter points, but over the final three quarters, Boston scored only 73.

In the early part of the season, Paul Millsap has received most of the credit for Denver’s defensive turnaround, and rightfully so. The barrel-chested forward has a special ability to block or alter shots at the rim without fouling. Millsap’s timing and anticipation are incredible.

Millsap is one of the game’s best erasers. It’s difficult to quantify how many miscues, big and small, he’s already cleaned up. And his fellow starters are pulling their weight, too.

Nikola Jokic is so much more active on the defensive end this season compared to last. He’s doing a much better job of moving his feet instead of relying on his hands to do the work. Watch how he shadows Cavaliers point guard George Hill and forces him into a tough shot here.

Jokic worked on his foot speed this summer, and the Nuggets are doing more drills to improve their lateral quickness during practice this season. But mostly, Jokic is trying harder.

“He’s doing a really good job,” Malone said. “Once again, defense is about caring, about pride, about commitment.”

Jamal Murray, Harris, Millsap and Jokic are Denver’s foundational pillars. That foursome is allowing 97.7 points per 100 possessions in 210 minutes when on the court together.

Harris has been phenomenal on both ends. He’s an unfair blend of strength and speed, and he always plays under control. Harris almost singlehandedly closed out the Pelicans game with clutch shotmaking and a pair of steals in the fourth quarter.

Murray doesn’t have the physical tools Harris does, but he competes.

Murray, Harris and Jokic all look like better defenders. Denver’s young core is trying to get its first taste of postseason action in 2019, and it sounds like they’re using the pain of coming up a hair short the last two years as motivation to get there.

“I’ve been here for two years, and both years we’ve missed the playoffs by one game,” Murray said. “Now we’re taking every game like it was the Minnesota game. I think we talked about it before training camp. Everybody has that feeling that if we lose one game now it’s going to come back to haunt us at the end of the year.”

It’s possible that losing that do-or-die game in Minnesota was the best possible thing that could’ve happened to the Nuggets’ youngsters. It forced them to examine their flaws and come back hungrier.

Mase, Monte and the bench

The starters are defending at an elite level, and when the reserves check in, there’s not much letdown. You can make a case that Mason Plumlee has been Denver’s best defender not named Millsap through the first 10 games. Plumlee, who had surgery in the offseason to repair muscles in his core, looks as athletic as he ever has in a Nuggets uniform. He’s blowing up pick-and-rolls and getting his mitts on everything.

Plumlee is averaging 1.2 steals in 17.3 minutes per game. The Nuggets are allowing a minuscule 90.6 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor compared to 104.2 points per 100 possessions when he sits. Malone was right when he said last week that Plumlee could be a starter on many NBA teams. He’s a solid rim runner, and on the defensive end, he protects the paint and is more mobile than he gets credit for.

Monte Morris has also been a bright spot off the bench. He’s undersized but gets by with quick hands, anticipation and refusing to give up on plays.

“Always handsy, always trying to strip the ball a lot,” Murray said of his backup at training camp. “You just gotta be ready.”

Denver’s bench has been a plus this season. The Nuggets shellacked the Jazz in the fourth quarter Saturday using a reserve-heavy lineup, and members of the bench mob helped Denver dig out of that early hole against Boston.

Early in the third quarter of Monday’s game, Juancho Hernangomez bricked a corner 3 and responded to the misfire by sprinting down the floor and swatting Hayward’s layup off the backboard. The chase-down block illustrated why Denver has gotten off to such a good start even though it’s hitting 3s at a 31.5 percent rate: If you’re going that hard on defense, there’s so much more margin for error on the other end.