The Denver Nuggets can close the gap in game two by doing the easy part

1. The Golden State Warriors might beat the Denver Nuggets even if the Nuggets find a way to lock in defensively for 48 minutes. But we wouldn’t know it from game one.

We’ll get into the long list of challenges that the Warriors present in the ensuing numbers on this list but number one has to be that the team just does the easy part. You cannot get beat on blow bys and back door cuts, especially against Steph Curry.

2. Same goes for properly communicating all switches and making sure those exchanges happen crisply and quickly.

3. This play illustrates just how difficult this is to do, over and over and over again without making errors. Here, the exchange isn’t perfect but in the first few seconds of the possession, it feels like the Nuggets have successfully switched and rotated over. But Curry sees Barton in the paint and Jeff Green stuck behind the screen so he flings the pass over to Klay Thompson in the corner.

Plays like this one require multiple defenders to make multiple reads back to back to back. On their best days, the Nuggets pull this off for 3/4 of a game. Against the Warriors, 3/4 isn’t enough.

4. Jokic can be a lot better defensively in game two. But these quick DHOs where the guard gets the ball to Draymond on the short roll are a handful to deal with. This is the challenge all centers face when matching up against the Warriors’ death lineup.

5. Nuggets got a tough whistle in game one. I didn’t necessarily think so watching it live but on rewatch, there were a couple of high profile plays that swung in Golden State’s favor, including these two examples below which occurred in almost the exact same spot on the court.

The Warriors are hard enough to defend off of screens even without Draymond sticking his ass out like that.

6. If you want an example of what a locked in defender looks like, watch Draymond in the clip below. He is the best defender in the NBA. Full stop.

7. There series comes down to the battle between Jokic and Draymond when the Warriors go to their small ball lineup. The Warriors won that battle convincingly in game one. Upon rewatch, there is reason to think that the Nuggets can look a lot better in those minutes in game two.

8. Other than Jokic and Draymond, the next most important player on the court during the small ball lineups is Aaron Gordon. He has to punish the Warriors for playing small and he has to do that by scoring at the rim, drawing fouls, and grabbing offensive rebounds. He did none of those things in game one.

9. Okay, fine. He did one of those things once.

10. The Nuggets may have stumbled onto something in playing through Jeff Green against small ball.

11. Look for the Nuggets to run more action like this in those minutes as well.

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