Nuggets’ coach Michael Malone and his staff went back to the drawing board this summer after surrendering a near league-worst 110.5 points per 100 possessions and 111.2 points per game last season, desperately in search of ways to improve their defense.
To put it bluntly, last year, Denver was awful across the board on that end of the floor. Opponents shot 47.7 percent from the field against the Nuggets and 37.5 percent from three, marks that slotted Denver 29th and 28th in the league respectively. Their halfcourt defense was non-existent as they allowed the opposition to shoot a league-high 45.6 percent from 5-9 feet and in pick-and-rolls, a topic that was discussed at length a season ago, the Nuggets were the 27th-worst team when defending ball-handlers and 24th-worst when defending the roll man, per Synergy.
Not one individual move or adjustment on defense will magically vault Denver to a top-5 or ten defense, but signing free agent Paul Millsap this summer who throughout his career has been regarded as a high-IQ and exceptional team defender, steady health from the Nuggets’ potential starting backcourt Gary Harris and Jamal Murray, a nimbler and fit Nikola Jokic patrolling Denver’s paint, and a more aggressive pick-and-roll scheme, will all help Denver gradually climb the league’s defensive charts.
The Nuggets are now 2-0 after their 113-107 win over the Lakers Monday and although preseason basketball doesn’t count in the league standings, you can tell you a lot about a team and what they’ve worked on during the offseason from their play. And it’s that final item on Denver’s list of summer accomplishments — their new pick-and-roll defense — that jumps off the screen when evaluating what’s different about the Nuggets this time around.
“We made a decision as a staff this summer in regards to our pick-and-roll defense, we wanted to simplify it and most importantly, we wanted to be more aggressive,” Malone said following Denver’s win Monday in Los Angeles. “And I think you saw some examples, we were able to get stops and run off of our defense. I know our guys, our guards especially like that because now that big is up the floor giving them help on that screen.”
Take this Lakers possession from Monday. Watch Jokic get on his horse (not “Dream Catcher” the thoroughbred he purchased in Serbia this summer who win its inaugural race with Malone in attendance) but his figurative one, and get up the floor to halt Brandon Ingram in his tracks and make him reverse the ball to the other side of the court.
Compare Jokic’s path up the floor with how the Nuggets covered pick-and-rolls for most of last season. Watch how Jusuf Nurkic hangs back on opening night against Damian Lillard and eventually gets burned as Lillard slithers by him to the hoop.
Besides limiting penetration, playing this more aggressive style also changes things for Denver’s guards and perimeter defenders. It gives point guards help on the ball and also allows wings to rotate on the fly and get in the passing lanes for steals and create turnovers, 22 of which they forced Monday against the Lakers.
Harris might not be Denver’s quickest defender in 1-on-1 situations, but he’s shrewd in his defensive awareness. As Jokic comes up to force Ingram back towards the center of the floor, Harris is already sprinting up the court to take away the pass Ingram wants to make across the floor to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He then gets back and gives a decent contest on Luol Deng, who shot just 31 percent from distance last season.
“I like our stance (on defense) this year. I think we’re up a little more on ball screens and pick-and-rolls,” said Mason Plumlee who scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds against Los Angeles and will be counted on for his defense this year with Denver’s second unit. “I think it will help our guards a lot with some of the good guards in the league they’ll have a little more help coming off of screens.”
Juancho Hernangomez is a little late rotating to Kyle Kuzma who gets off a decent look from three, but here’s Kenneth Faried turning away Jordan Clarkson who’s looking to turn the corner and get to the hoop.
“I like it because you put pressure on the ball-handler,” Millsap said of the defensive scheme. “Most of the guards in this league are pick-and-roll heavy and they’ll eat you alive in pick-and-roll situations whether that’s making a play for others or making a play for themselves. If you can put pressure on those guys and make them put a ball up or make them make tough decisions, it makes it a little easier.”
Can the Nuggets use their new pick-and-roll scheme to climb up the Western Conference ranks?
It won’t vault Denver into another tier by itself, but if their new style, combined with health and more consistency in their approach on the defensive end of the floor all blends together for a full season like it has through two preseason games, then the Nuggets have the makings of a league-average defense which would be more than enough for a playoff spot and potential first-round upset.
Unfortunately, Denver won’t play young and inexperienced squads like the Lakers every night next season and their new scheme will have to work against Western Conference juggernauts like Golden State, which it did for a couple quarters on Saturday, Houston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
But the Nuggets are showing signs after just two preseason games that the inner-workings of an effective and league-average defense are there, which aligned with an offense that will surely be among the league’s best makes Denver a difficult and pesky out for any team on most nights. That’s the most that an up-and-coming and expected playoff team in the Western Conference can ask for.
