The three tweaks that have the Nuggets' offense back to last season's league-leading form

DENVER — Nuggets coach Michael Malone was both candid and direct when speaking with the media about Denver’s sluggish offense on Jan. 21 after his team lost for the sixth time in its past eight games.

“I am calling way more play calls than I did my first two years,” Malone said. “We have gotten away from just playing the game … Teams didn’t know what the hell we were doing last year. We just played with great pace. We’re playing really slow right now. We used to run. We’re not running as much. We used to cut. We’re not cutting as much. We’re just standing. I want to get back to being a team that’s hard to guard. That runs. That plays with pace. And kind of get back to the offensive identity we had last year.”

Since the Nuggets’ 104-101 win over the Trail Blazers, which came the day after Malone’s remarks, Denver’s offense has returned to last year’s version of itself and then some. In the eight games since the comments, the Nuggets have amassed a 6-2 record. They’ve beaten the Knicks, Mavericks, Thunder, Warriors and now Hornets. They’ve also gone down to the wire in close losses against Boston and San Antonio.

The Nuggets are the league’s best offense since Jan. 21. Denver is scoring 113.9 points per 100 possessions in its past eight games, according to NBA.com. That’s a better mark than the Warriors, the Raptors and even the streaking Jazz, who have won six in a row. The Nuggets are also scoring better than the league-leading offense they fielded after Dec. 15 last season. Denver scored 113.3 points per 100 possessions over the final 57 games of the 2016-17 season.

Fewer play calls is one reason why the Nuggets have found a groove on offense.

“No play calls kind of helps us,” said Nikola Jokic, the conductor and traffic cop of Denver’s attack who’s averaging 18.1 points, 11.4 rebounds and 8.1 assists over the Nuggets’ past eight games. “You can just do whatever. You’re not going to be wrong so you don’t hesitate, ‘Should I do this? Should I go there?’ You just do things. I think it’s easier for us.”

“We ain’t walking it up. Speed dribbling,” Will Barton added. “Whether it’s Gary (Harris) or me or Jamal (Murray). Just trying to put the defense on its heels even when we’re playing in the half court. Trying to get the best look possible early. Just speeding the game up a little bit.”

Denver has scored less than 100 points just once during this recent stretch. As a team, the Nuggets are shooting 40.7 percent from three over the past eight games and are handing out 28.1 assists per contest — the third-best mark in the league.

The Nuggets shot 18-34 (52.9 percent) in their 121-114 win Monday night over the Hornets. Denver also tallied 30 assists on 48 made field goals. The Nuggets are also making it a point to play faster both in transition and in the half court.

“Playing with pace is playing with purpose, cutting hard, finishing your cut and I think we saw multiple examples of that tonight,” Malone said.

Another reason why Denver’s threes are falling and they’re running up the score as of late? Fresh legs.

With a banged-up roster, the Nuggets have cut practices over the past few weeks — a decision that sits well with players. Denver will have an off day Tuesday before going hard during Wednesday’s practice. They’ll have a light Thursday practice before a back-to-back Friday and Saturday in Houston and Phoenix.

“Good teams don’t practice around this time of year,” Barton said. “Ain’t got time for that. You need fresh legs, guys are playing 30-40 minutes, and you practice hard too. That’s going to be tough. Now I see why A.I. said that. I didn’t understand that when I was young but man, playing 40 every night and then you got to practice? I might say that too.”

Fresher legs also allowed Darrell Arthur to rise up for his first dunk of the season, a one-handed tomahawk alley-oop in Monday’s fourth quarter off a Barton lob.

Fewer play calls from the sideline, playing with more pace and a more free-flowing offense — like last year’s version — are behind Denver’s recent offensive resurgence. A well-rested team is also helping.

“As a coach sometimes you can try to win the battle, (but you) lose the war,” Malone said about cutting down practice time. “I’m bringing them in, ‘We’re working today. We’ve got two hours in.’ Then you come out the next night in the game and look flat.”

“It’s true!” 17-year veteran Richard Jefferson shouted from a few feet away in agreement.