The List: Defensive diagnostics

It’s hard to pinpoint just what exactly is going on with the Denver Nuggets since the all-star break two weeks ago. The Nuggets are just 4-4 since the break with blowout losses to two Western Conference playoff teams and two additional losses to two of the league’s five worst teams. Nikola Jokic has gone from looking like the best center in the world to moping up and down the court like his dog just died, Paul Millsap looks like he’s aged a half decade since last December, Michael Porter Jr. has the confidence of a child on his first day of kindergarten, and collectively the Nuggets are turning the ball over like it’s their job.

Yet the worst trend facing the Nuggets right now is that they have the 2nd worst defense in the NBA since the all-star break despite playing some of the league’s worst offenses over that stretch. They’ve given up 110 or more points in six of their last eight games. Things appear to be falling apart for a Nuggets defense that spent a fair amount of the season ranked inside the top 10 in defensive efficiency.

So what is going wrong?

In short: everything. Let’s take a closer look in today’s extra long edition of THE LIST.

1. Defending a double pindown is all about knowing your personal and taking away the offense’s most efficient looks. A wide open layup is always the efficient option.

2. It’s hard to understand the decision to throw this pass at this moment of a game in which nothing was going right defensively.

3. Plays like this one are especially worrisome since it points to a team that isn’t on the same page and cannot find a way to properly communicate basic things like who to pick up in transition.

Another example.

4. Jokic was dropping into the paint when defending against Matthew Dellevadova in the PnR, a scheme the Nuggets used frequently in year’s past. The strategy was getting killed in the 3rd quarter when the Cavaliers went to some form of spread PnR over, and over, and over again.

5. The Nuggets have ranked 25th in defensive rebounding percentage since the all-star break, and are down to 20th on the season. That is a significant drop from previous seasons in the Jokic-Malone era. Here the Nuggets just get outworked in a 4-on-2 situation.

6. Almost every defensive rotation against the Cavaliers brought some level of miscommunication and confusion.

Another defensive miscue that is the result of an unclear rotation and/or poor communication.

7. Paul Millsap is usually Denver’s veteran, backbone on the defensive end who rarely misses an assignment but he has looked a step slow both physically and mentally since returning from what was basically a two-month long absence spanning the months of January and February.

Another example of Millsap looking both mentally and physically slower than usual.

8. “Fake hustle” plays are plays that look like strong effort but are actually short cuts that leave you vulnerable. Murray provided a perfect example of a fake hustle play on this pointless lunge into the passing lane that resulted in an easy back door cut for a layup.

9. Michael Porter’s offensive rebounding has been one of the bright spots of his game this season but the balance between crashing the glass and getting back in transition is one that both he and his teammates will have to figure out. Here, Will Barton and Gary Harris get caught watching the rebound and Porter fully commits to getting into the scrum as the Cavs sneak out for an easy transition layup.

10. Jerami Grant allowed himself to get pinned under the basket on this simple duck in.

11. Contrast the level of intensity from the Los Angeles Clippers in their beat down of the Nuggets last week to the level of intensity on plays like the one in the clip below, where Torrey Craig walks into a switch before jumping to foul a three-point shooter. The Nuggets are just playing flat footed right now. If they have a “switch,” they sure haven’t flipped it yet.

THE FULL LIST