Five Observations: Nuggets' road woes continue as they disappear in second half against Jazz

The Denver Nuggets dropped another road game Tuesday. The Utah Jazz used a strong second-half effort to breeze by Denver 106-77. Here are five observations from the game.

1. The Nuggets are two  different teams at home vs. on the road

It’s no exaggeration to say that the Nuggets have been one of the best home teams in the NBA near the quarter mark of the season. They hold an 8-2 record at the Pepsi Center and are outscoring opponents by 9.1 points per game at their home arena.

But they become a completely different team when they leave the Mile High City. Denver slumped to 3-7 on the road following Tuesday’s beatdown in Utah.

The Nuggets shot 35.9 percent from the floor and scored a season-low 77 points. Their shot chart was NSFW.

2. Denver disappeared in the second half

The Nuggets were in a decent position coming out of the halftime break. They were ahead by one point. But when the whistle signaling the start to the third quarter blew, Denver retreated. The Nuggets got outscored 58-28 in the second half. They shot 11-36 on field goals and 1-17 on three-pointers. They had twice as many turnovers (eight) as assists (four), and got out-rebounded 27-15.

It was an embarrassing effort on national TV.

“We have no leadership right now,” reserve center Mason Plumlee said on the postgame broadcast. “It’s on the players.”

3. Emmanuel Mudiay‘s turnover issues continue to be a problem

With a little more than 9 minutes remaining, Nuggets backup point guard Emmanuel Mudiay caught the basketball near the top of the three-point arc. Inside, Nikola Jokic was posting up and appeared to have position. Instead of feeding Jokic, Mudiay dribbled into a crowd and turned the ball over.

It was Mudiay’s final giveaway of the game. He wound up committing five turnovers in 19 minutes of floor time. Mudiay struggled with turnover issues his rookie and sophomore seasons, and he continues to do so in his third year.

As a team, the Nuggets turned it over 17 times. They were the second-worst team in basketball in terms of turnover rate before Tuesday’s game.

4. Nikola Jokic still has work to do on the defensive end — particularly guarding pick and rolls

Jokic has improved by leaps and bounds on the defensive end this year. He’s helped shut down some of the league’s premier centers, including DeMarcus Cousins and Marc Gasol. Jokic has started to figure out how to disrupt other player’s shots without fouling.

But when it comes to guarding pick and rolls, Jokic still has progress to make. The Jazz repeatedly involved Jokic in pick and rolls in the third quarter. They seemed to get good looks out of that sequence every single time.

Derrick Favors scored 24 points on 12-16 shooting. He converted look after look inside. Many of his makes around the rim were a product of just rolling to the basket and finishing.

5. Donovan Mitchell is gonna be a problem

The Utah Jazz rookie guard played another nice game Tuesday. Mitchell scored 16 points (5-12 FG) to go along with two assists and two steals. The Jazz, who acquired Mitchell in a draft-night trade with the Nuggets, have relied heavily on him to create offense after Gordon Hayward left. Mitchell has delivered.

Donovan Mitchell is fun to watch pic.twitter.com/9t8cohIhL5

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) November 29, 2017