Following the Denver Nuggets 106-77 loss to the Utah Jazz Tuesday night, reserve center Mason Plumlee called upon his teammates to step up as leaders and hold each other responsible for their poor play.
“I think it’s going to take some leadership, hold people accountable. Somebody has got to step forward and kind of be a voice and get on people and it can’t just be from the staff,” Plumlee said via Altitude TV. “We have to take ownership internally and deal with it.”
Plumlee’s comments came after a disheartening loss in Salt Lake City where Denver scored just 28 points across the third and fourth quarters.
The Nuggets led 49-48 at halftime.
A self-described “quiet team” the Nuggets don’t have a vocal leader that stands out from the rest of the roster. Nikola Jokic has assumed more of a leadership role over Denver’s recent stretch of games but he’s not an outspoken individual by nature.
Paul Millsap, Denver’s marquee free agent signing, is more of a lead-by-example type of player as well.
“We miss Paul as a player but he wasn’t super vocal,” Plumlee said. “We miss him on the floor but this very well could have happened with him on the team too.”
The Nuggets shot just 11-36 (30.6 percent) from the field and 1-17 from three over the final two quarters.
Turnovers, which have plagued Denver all season were again a factor in Utah. The Nuggets committed 18 turnovers leading to 28 Jazz points. On the season, Denver is averaging 16.7 turnovers per game — the third-most in the league. They’re also gifting opponents a league-high 21.3 points per game off giveaways.
“An awful, embarrassing night for the Denver Nuggets,” coach Michael Malone said following the loss.
A lack of leadership, especially veteran leadership, was a topic Malone addressed following a January loss to Sacramento last season.
“No veteran leadership stepping up, don’t hear anyone speaking, taking the lead,” Malone said. “We have two young guys trying to speak up on the team, which you applaud, but you need some leadership to shine and step up.”
Malone apologized for the comment a few days later after talking with players 1-on-1 but besides the addition of Millsap and the loss of Danilo Gallinari, Denver has much of the same roster from last season. Jameer Nelson, who was one of the more vocal players in the Nuggets’ locker room a year ago was waived on opening night.
Denver signed NBA champion and 17-year veteran Richard Jefferson in Nelson’s place.
“It has to change if we want to make this season worthwhile,” Plumlee said. “It’s got to happen.”
Plumlee logged 16 minutes against Utah and went scoreless on 0-3 shooting.
The Nuggets are 11-9 through 20 games this season but are just 3-7 on the road. Denver is 8-2 at Pepsi Center which is the site of their Thursday night matchup against the Chicago Bulls.
