Can the Denver Nuggets slow Donovan Mitchell?

A not-so-fun statistic to jumpstart today’s edition of the list: The Utah Jazz have the NBA’s #1 offense since Christmas Eve.

That was true before the NBA arrived inside of the Orlando bubble but it has only become more true as they have carved up the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. So perhaps it isn’t that much of a surprise that the Jazz have been able to light the nets on fire with hot shooting and pick and roll precision. The Nuggets, for their part, rank 3rd in offensive efficiency in the playoffs despite being down three games to one. Still, the Nuggets need to hope that Utah blinks first in this shootout and starts missing something.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the subtle details from game four.

1. Michael Malone has talked about the Denver Nuggets putting an emphasis on keeping Donovan Mitchell away from getting downhill driving towards his right. In the clip below, you can see an example of how quickly he gets to the rim going right and how he at least has to settle for other options when you can contain him and force him back to the middle.

2. Here is another example. Mitchell is making the hard ones at a high clip so it is all the more important for the Nuggets to prevent him from getting the easy ones.

3. Having multiple point guards who can attack out of the pick and roll, dribble handoff, and dribble pitch makes plays like this so difficult to read in real time.

4. Another example of how Denver can limit the easy ones for the Utah Jazz. Michael Porter is having to make a lot of complicated calculations in short order right now as the Jazz are placing him at the center of a lot of action. Plays like the one below show how a split second misread can lead to fouls and easy baskets. These mistakes appear especially frustrating to teammates since the Nuggets are struggling to contain the Jazz even on their best defensive possessions.

5. The Nuggets might’ve found something in having Paul Millsap attack undersized defenders and second units. Having Millsap attack allows Nikola Jokic to drag Rudy Gobert out of the paint and away from the rim.

6. Really liked how well Jamal Murray relocates as soon as Jokic goes into his scoring move. Creates extra space for him to get a shot off.