Coincidence or not, Denver’s best defensive game in weeks came with the Nuggets’ defensive captain back in the lineup. Paul Millsap, who missed the last three games with ankle soreness, watched helplessly from the sidelines as the Nuggets gave up 129, 135 and 117 points to the Pistons, Nets and 76ers as Denver’s defense continued to plummet from the top-5 status it held for the first month of the regular season.
The Nuggets corrected their defensive slide Monday against Miami, limiting the Heat to just 87 points, the fewest Denver has allowed since a 95-86 win over Toronto back on Dec. 16. The Nuggets held the Heat to just 41.5 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent from three in their 16-point victory.
“It was a point of emphasis for sure,” Millsap told BSN Denver regarding the defense. “We’ve had a lot of slippage on the defensive end. We started off the game with the right mentality and with the right mindset. And that’s all it is. It’s a mindset.”
The Nuggets’ sliding defense had been the focus of a lengthy Sunday afternoon practice and a topic of conversation in the locker room where grievances were aired following Denver’s loss in Brooklyn last week. After fielding the fourth-best defense in the league over the first two months of the regular season, the Nuggets’ defensive efficiency had plummeted all the way to 15th overall prior to tip-off against the Heat.
What was the key to the Nuggets’ one-game turnaround? Communication.
“Communciation is the key to defense. It’s the key to everything. Communication is the key to life, you know?” Millsap said. “Good communication, it’s how you get to know each other better. It’s how you limit the mistakes on the defensive end. If we communicate and talk we’ll get a better understanding of each other and what needs to be done.”
Denver’s communication was better against the Heat than it had been over the Nuggets’ last month of basketball. Malone chided his team for their quiet nature on Sunday, saying that Denver’s lack of communication is “comical.”
But a day later you could hear Mason Plumlee alerting his teammates of incoming screens from halfway up Pepsi Center’s lower bowl. Plumlee, the anchor of Denver’s defense, played a masterful defensive game against Miami, recording three of the Nuggets’ six blocks on the night. He also finished with a team-high plus-27 plus-minus in 31 minutes of action and held Heat starting center Hassan Whiteside to just six points on 3-7 shooting. Plumlee finished with eight rebounds on the night, and Denver only allowed an average of 87.3 points per 100 possessions with its 7-footer on the floor.
Malone also applauded his guards, including Monte Morris, who finished with 17 points on 7-11 shooting, seven assists and zero turnovers, for their defensive effort and making Miami’s backcourt feel their presence high up the floor. Denver got countless multiple-effort plays from their defense against Miami, something that hasn’t been the case over the last few weeks. The Nuggets registered 10 kills on Monday, a stat Denver’s coaching staff keeps track of during the game. A kill is three stops in a row. The 10 kills the Nuggets recorded against the Heat were the second-highest mark Denver has tallied all season.
The Nuggets are back up to the 11th-most efficient defense in the league after cooling down the Heat, who were coming off a narrow fourth-quarter loss in Golden State on Sunday night. Denver also maintained its status as the league’s best fourth-quarter defense, keeping Miami to only 17 fourth-quarter points on 6-17 shooting and also forced the Heat into five turnovers.
On the season, the Nuggets are only allowing an average of 100.4 points per 100 possessions in fourth quarters, nearly three full points per 100 possession less than the Milwaukee Bucks, the second-best fourth-quarter defense in the NBA.
“When the games on the line, we’re probably a better pressure team than most,” Millsap said. “But I wish we could do it starting games off. Basketball is a fourth-quarter game, and if we can do it throughout the whole game, we’ll definitely be the No. 1 team on the defensive end.
“We can do it. There’s no doubt. It’s just about putting your mind to it. It’s just a mindset to want to go out there and get stop, get kills. We’ve got to have it.”
