The Nuggets have the 'worst defense in the NBA,' so how do they fix it?

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DENVER — About 15 minutes after the Nuggets suffered a 120-113 gutless loss Tuesday at the hands of the Sacramento Kings, Michael Malone emerged from the Nuggets’ locker room, paced down the 50-foot hallway that separates the team quarters from a group of huddled reporters, and labeled his team as the “worst defense in the NBA.”

It was an emotionally fueled and somewhat understandable response from Malone, who’s now 0-4 against his former employer since Sacramento fired him just over three years ago, but one that was said with merit.

On the season, the Nuggets are giving up 109.6 points per 100 possessions, which ranks them 27th league-wide in Defensive Rating. Over their last ten games, since Malone inserted Nikola Jokic, Wilson Chandler, and Gary Harris into the starting lineup, Denver is 5-5, scoring 114.8 points per 100 possessions, the second-most in the league behind San Antonio but is also, as Malone eluded to, the worst defensive team across the NBA.

Just 1.5 games out of the Western Conference’s eighth seed, Denver still has their sights set on the playoffs, but those visions will begin to blur if the Nuggets can’t get their act together defensively from now until the All-Star break and late-February’s trade deadline.

Here are a few ways that Denver can go about improving their defense:

Limiting threes

At the onset of the regular season, the Nuggets’ coaching staff decided they were going to try and limit their opponent’s three’s and shots at the rim, and allow opposing guards and wings to have at it from mid-range. It’s a sound and smart strategy many teams across the league are deploying, of course based on their personnel.

However, over the second half of this regular season, something changed, and now the Nuggets are back to what they were doing last season – putting a premium on limiting paint points. Making it tough on your opponent in the paint is crucial, but not at the expense of leaving three-point shooters open.

Watch as Darrell Arthur, one of Denver’s most sound defenders takes an unnecessary step towards the paint to provide an extra body on a diving Kosta Koufos, who’s already adequately covered by both Jusuf Nurkic and Jameer Nelson. That sliver of an opening is all Anthony Tolliver needs to nail this corner three.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Danilo Gallinari later on in the fourth, overhelps on DeMarcus Cousins who is already doubled by Nikola Jokic and Wilson Chandler. That leaves Arron Afflalo wide open in the corner where he’s shooting 13-28 (46.4 percent) on the year.

A night earlier in Golden State, the victim was Jamal Murray, who opted to show to David West at the elbow rather than put his head down and sprint to cover Klay Thompson in the corner. West is shooting 46.7 percent from mid-range this season, Thompson is converting on 50 percent of his three’s over Golden State’s last five games. Three’s are worth three points, two’s are worth two.

From Oct. 26 through Nov. 19, during Denver’s first 12 games of the season, the Nuggets were allowing opponents to score the most paint points in the league, 49.8 per game, but had the 17th-best defense overall, surrendering just 104.9 points per 100 possessions. That’s not a defense you’re winning championships with but it was progress from where Denver was a year ago.

But after a Nov. 18 home loss to Toronto, it’s evident the Nuggets switched their defensive philosophy.

The number of paint points Denver allowed dropped from 49.8 to 43.9 but their Defensive Rating rose to 112.9, the worst in the league over the past 23 games, all per NBA.com.

The reason? Opponents, who were shooting just 32.4 percent from three, prior to that loss on Nov. 18, which at the time was the third-best three-point defense in the league, are now shooting 39.2 percent from distance over the Nuggets’ last 23 games.

How opponents have gotten their offense against Denver over their past 23 games and against the Nuggets as of late is discouraging. Locking up opponents from distance, even if it comes at the expense of surrendering more points in the paint, would bode well for Denver defensively.

Containing the ball

It’s tough to have an efficient half-court defense when the opposition is routinely able to get into the paint and by your perimeter without much resistance. Guards have to be able to contain their man off the dribble, fight through screens beyond the three-point arc and make it as difficult as possible for their opponent to get into the lane.

If they don’t it’s absolute hell for their bigs who have to choose between giving Darren Collison a wide open layup or mid-range jumper and finding themselves front and center on Cousins’ latest poster.

“It starts on the ball, containment, 1-on-1 containment, taking pride in not getting blown by off the bounce,” Malone said of his team’s defense after the Sacramento loss. “Communicating, trusting each other, trusting in the gameplan. Not second-guessing everything that we’re trying to do. Those are all things that we can do to get better.”

Against the Kings Tuesday night, the Nuggets did not contain the ball. Collison, who hadn’t scored more than 20 points since Nov. 23 or dished out more than six assists since Dec. 14, finished with a season-high 26 points and seven dimes.

Everywhere you looked, Denver got blown by off the dribble by Kings players, both big and small.

On the night, Sacramento shot 35-59 (59.3 percent) from two-point range. Collison shot 10-16 from the field, 5-7 in the restricted area and 6-11 on uncontested field goals. Cousins finished a less-efficient 10-25 from the field, 5-10 from the restricted area and shot just 5-12 on uncontested field goals.

It could have been a lot worse.

How do the Nuggets better contain guards on the perimeter? It’s not an exact science but having better game plan discipline, something which Malone seems to be searching for after every loss is a good place to start.

Inject new life into the rotation

It’s become clear that effort is an issue with this Nuggets team. That was evident in Tuesday’s loss to the Kings where a win would have put Denver in sole possession of the eighth seed in the West. The Nuggets came out flat with no defensive intensity.

Arthur and Nurkic, who don’t have the most impressive individual defensive number this season, likely due to Denver’s inefficient defensive ratings as a team, are historically above-average defenders. Over the Nuggets’ past three games, where Denver has surrendered a ghastly 121.7 points per 100 possessions, Nurkic has gotten consistent run for this first time since Jokic replaced him in the starting lineup on Dec. 15.

Nurkic played 19, 21, and 18 minutes respectively over Denver’s last three games and looks like he’s established himself as the Nuggets’ backup center with Kenneth Faried out of the lineup with a back injury. In those three games, Denver is giving up roughly 4.5 fewer points per 100 possessions with Nurkic on the floor.

Arthur, who’s been hampered by knee soreness all season, played 18 minutes against Sacramento Tuesday, the most time he’s spent on the floor since the Nuggets’ Dec. 10 win in Orlando. It was just one game, where Denver was inconsistent on the defensive end throughout, but the Nuggets did clock a 111.6 Defensive Rating with Arthur on the floor, compared to a 127.3 rating with him on the bench.

Juancho Hernangomez, who was recently sent on a D-League assignment to the Sioux Falls Skyforce where he’ll presumably play a couple games this coming weekend, could also give Denver life on the perimeter. Opponents are shooting just 40.9 percent when Hernangomez is the primary defender, per NBA.com, and he has shown the ability to lock up opposing wings at times this season.

“It’s embarrassing how we go out and attempt to defend every night,” Malone said. “That is something that we have to try and fix as soon as possible because it’s at an all-time low right now and that is a huge concern of mine.”

Over the past four season, the eighth seed in the West has averaged 45 wins, whereas this year, it looks like the final playoff team may come in well under .500. In a typical season, sitting at 14-21 through 35 games, there would be even more talk about blowing the Nuggets’ roster up and rebuilding, but with the eighth seed in the West still within reach, the Nuggets will likely stay the course for now.

Denver won’t get into the playoffs unless they improve defensively. It should be and surely is priority No. 1 for Malone and his staff and will likely determine if the Nuggets will find themselves in Golden State during the second week of April, for the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.