Five Observations: Michael Malone takes blame for Nuggets' pick-and-roll defense

The Denver Nuggets’ up-and-down season continued with a 125-95 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Denver, which was playing its second game without Paul Millsap, gave up 75 first-half points and was never really in the game. Here are five observations from the beatdown.

The Nuggets dropped their bigs in pick-and-roll situations

Denver experienced success by playing a more aggressive brand of defense early in the season. Denver was forcing about four more turnovers per game this year compared to last year entering Wednesday’s game. But when the ball tipped in Houston, we witnessed the Nuggets go back to their conservative pick and roll scheme from the 2016-17 season.

I wondered how the Nuggets would guard PnRs without Millsap. They’re dropping the big tonight, and it’s not working out great. pic.twitter.com/qcSeX7Mlu1

— Christian Clark (@cclark_13) November 23, 2017

Denver’s bigs hung back in the paint while James Harden, Chris Paul and company dribbled around screens. Denver got roasted with this approach. After the game, Malone took the blame for the failed adjustment.

“We made a change after 17 games, and that’s poor coaching by me,” Malone said, via Altitude. “I didn’t trust what we did after 17 games.”

Denver tried to play small ball from the opening tip

Kenneth Faried got the start at power forward in Monday’s win over the Sacramento Kings. Two days later, Nuggets coach Michael Malone decided to shake things up by starting Wilson Chandler in the frontcourt alongside Nikola Jokic. It was a curious decision — why not go with the Jokic/Faried pairing that outscored opponents by 10.9 points per 100 possessions last year?

Perhaps it had to to do with Denver’s opponent. The Rockets started 6-foot-6 P.J. Tucker at power forward. Maybe Malone thought Chandler would match up better against him?

Faried never played. Trey Lyles got the backup power forward minutes. It will be interesting to see how Malone manages minutes at the power forward spot moving forward.

The Rockets are insanely deep and talented

Houston was without Ryan Anderson (illness) and Eric Gordon (strained calf). It didn’t matter. The Rockets rolled without a starter and the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. They shot 26-38 in the first half, including 8-14 on three-pointers. Houston’s first-half shot chart was greener than Kyrie Irving’s new-found diet.

James Harden (21 points, eight rebounds, nine assists) and Chris Paul (23 points, 12 assists) were brilliant. The Rockets also got key contributions from role players Trevor Ariza (7-10 on threes), Nene (5-7 FG) and Luc Mbah a Moute (5-5, plus-44 in 26 minutes).

Gary Harris and Jokic were the only ones that had it going in the first half

This game was over at halftime. The Rockets held a 35-point advantage at the break. The Nuggets had major issues defensively. They also struggled mightily on the offensive end as they scored only 40 points. Harris and Jokic combined to shoot 11 for 18 in the first half. The rest of Denver’s roster combined to go 4 for 26.

Denver got next to nothing from Chandler (1-6, two points) and Emmanuel Mudiay (0-5, one point, four turnovers).

The Nuggets have to find a way to be more consistent

Let’s take a quick look at Denver’s last six games:

• 125-107 win vs. Orlando
• 99-82 loss at Portland
• 146-114 win vs. New Orleans
• 127-109 loss at Los Angeles Lakers
• 114-98 win vs. Sacramento
• 125-95 loss at Houston

The Nuggets are 3-3 in this stretch. They’ve blown the doors off the Magic, looked lifeless against the Trail Blazers, rolled over Boogie and The Brow, got blown against a bad Lakers team, easily dispatched the Kings with a big second half and then got destroyed by the Rockets. Peak, valley, peak, valley, peak, valley. Denver has to find a way to play more consistent basketball — with or without Millsap.