"Defense is the heart and soul of who we are": The Nuggets' starting five is setting Denver's defensive tone

Jamal Murray clapped. Assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. took a few steps onto the court to congratulate his players. Torrey Craig rose from his spot on the Nuggets’ bench and let out a scream.

The Nuggets weren’t celebrating a Jamal Murray 3-pointer, a magical Nikola Jokic assist, or a Will Barton basket. Denver was rejoicing over its first highlight play of the night against the Philadelphia 76ers: a 24 second violation.

The defensive possessions where the Nuggets execute two or three switches in a row, or hedge a pick-and-roll perfectly and then sprint back to their original man, and the 24 second violation during the first few minutes of their 100-97 win over the 76ers, those are the types of sequences that earn the most acclaim within the walls of Pepsi Center.

Those multiple effort plays helped the Nuggets hold the 76ers to 44% shooting from the field and force Philadelphia into 17 turnovers leading to Denver’s 100-97 win. Two nights later the Nuggets’ defense helped capture a 100-98 overtime win over the Timberwolves where Minnesota shot just 35% from the field and 6 of 45 from 3.

Denver’s latest two wins — two hard-fought defensive efforts where the Nuggets’ offense has come and gone — served as a microcosm for how their regular season has begun. The Nuggets’ offense (ranked 23rd in the league) has been largely inconsistent while Denver’s defense has done the heavy lifting. Through nine games the Nuggets’ defense is ranked fourth in the league.

The Nuggets’ aren’t built on their Jokic-led attack at the moment. Denver is currently a defensive-first team that wins games based on their effort on that end of the floor.

“That’s who we have to be,” Michael Malone said.

So what has fueled the Nuggets’ strong defensive start to the season?

Denver’s starting five is among the stingiest lineups in the league. Through nine games the Nuggets are only allowing 89.2 points per 100 possessions when Murray, Jokic, Barton, Gary Harris and Paul Millsap are on the floor. Only one five-man lineup that’s played at least 50 minutes together this season — Houston’s starting lineup which features Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Danuel House Jr., P.J. Tucker and Clint Capela and has generated a stout 86.8 Defensive Rating — has been better.

“We know who we are and what our staple is,” Millsap said regarding the defensive success Denver’s first five has found. “The effort is definitely there and I think that’s the main thing. Guys are going into games knowing what type of effort we need on the defensive end and in every single game we’ve brought it.”

The buy-in has been obvious over the course of this season and going back to last year which under Malone was the first time the Nuggets’ have fielded a defense that ranked outside the NBA’s bottom-10.

But so has the talent. Gary Harris shined on the defensive end of the floor during the playoffs last season, completely altering the Nuggets’ first round series against the Spurs when Denver switched the two-guard onto Derrick White. Harris also limited Damian Lillard to 41% shooting from the field and 28.8% from 3 during the Nuggets and Trail Blazers’ second-round matchup. Harris helped hold Devin Booker to 6 of 21 shooting, Buddy Hield to 2 of 13 shooting, Luka Doncic to 3 of 12 shooting from the field earlier this season too. He’s matched up on the opposing team’s best guard every night and has fared well so far this season.

When starting small forward Will Barton is the primary defender, opposing players are shooting just 42% from the field, a mark that’s on par with Kawhi Leonard this season. Paul Millsap has earned a rep as one of the best primary and help-side defenders in the league over the last 13 seasons and Jamal Murray has shown improvement on that end of the floor as well.

Jokic has had some impressive moments defensively to open the season too. Per NBA.com’s matchup data, Jokic as the primary defender held Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns to a combined 4 of 17 shooting over Denver’s last two games. Jokic is also averaging 3.3 deflections per game, the 14th-most in the league and third-most among big men.

“His strength is his positioning and he’s so big that he can affect a lot of shots and clog up the paint,” said Millsap. “He’s definitely taken steps forward on the defensive end.”

“I think he’s underrated defensively, I really do,” Malone said. “Look at the 1-on-1  defense against Embiid, a second team All-NBA player, his 1-on-1 defense against Karl-Anthony Towns, even last year in the playoffs. I mean I thought his defense was phenomenal. He’s got such a high IQ. He understands tendencies and personnel. He understands angles. He has great anticipation, active hands for deflections, and he’s committed to it. I think the reason he’s become a better defensive player is he’s committed to that end of the floor.”

You’ve seen that commitment from Jokic as of late. He’s been playing on the balls of his feet more and has looked more nimble when jumping out to defend pick-and-rolls on the perimeter. Much has been made about the shape the seven-footer came back to Denver in this fall, but Jokic has been on record saying that he thinks he’s at his best when playing heavier. Last week against the 76ers, Jokic played the entire fourth quarter and outscored Philadelphia 16-13 in the period.

“When we’re flying around, making multiple-effort plays, having good contests and try to not let them have wide open layups and shots, that’s just going to help us,” Jokic said.

Denver’s current profile paints the picture of a team who is rock solid defensively but still trying to find their offensive identity, and that’s a pretty accurate assessment of where the Nuggets are. Denver isn’t executing in the half-court and can’t generate efficient opportunities on the fast break. The Nuggets are averaging just 87.1 points per 100 half-court possessions, the seventh-worst mark in the league per Cleaning The Glass, and just 14.3% of their possessions are beginning with a transition play.

But Denver would rather be winning games with its defense right now instead of its offense. The Nuggets are convinced it’s only a matter of time before they find their footing on that end of the floor.

“If you’re 7-2 and your defense is good and your offense is struggling, I’ll take that all day every day,” Millsap said. “I think shots are going to fall eventually and we’ll figure out how  we need to play on the offense end. But defense is the heart and soul of who we are and what we need to do to win games.”