Was it "just one of them days" or is this Nuggets defense for real?

Good morning, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

As you unwrap presents and spend time with loved ones today, keep this statistic in the back of your mind. The Denver Nuggets are the 18th-best defense in the league. It’s not a sexy ranking but it is a huge improvement from last season. It’s also a noticeable reversal from the nosedive towards the bottom of the league Denver’s defense took after All-Star Paul Millsap sprained his wrist in November.

The Nuggets’ recent uptick on defense can be traced back to a 123-114 defeat in New Orleans where DeMarcus Cousins put 40 points and 22 rebounds on Denver. Nuggets coach Michael Malone blasted his team for their defense that night and pleaded with his players to start paying attention to scouting reports and their 1-on-1 assignments.

Then, a resurgence.

Since the Bayou beatdown, the Nuggets are fielding the third-best defense in the league. That’s right. Over their past nine games, only the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors are playing defense better than Denver.

The Nuggets are allowing a stingy 102.5 points per 100 possessions over this recent nine-game stretch. They’ve given up an average 106.4 points per 100 possessions this season. Denver has also held five of their last nine opponents under 100 points — something they were only able to do on six occasions over their first 24 games.

The defensive strides the Nuggets made climaxed over the past two games and on back-to-back nights, first in Portland on Friday and then in Golden State on Saturday. In what some around the organization are considering the greatest two-game road trip in franchise history, Denver held two opponents to 85 points or less in 24 hours. The Nuggets limited the Trail Blazers to 42.4 percent shooting from the field and Portland shot just 6-22 from three-point range. Denver then held Golden State to a season-low 81 points.

Even without Stephen Curry, who’s missed the Warriors’ last eight games with an ankle injury, Golden State is a nightmare to guard. Kevin Durant is arguably the league’s best scorer. Klay Thompson might be the league’s best shooter. Draymond Green‘s basketball IQ is second to none. Steve Kerr‘s savvy and the culture he’s built in Golden State helped turn Nick Young and JaVale McGee into serviceable rotation pieces at one point or another this year.

After Denver’s 96-81 win in Oakland, some didn’t agree that Denver’s defense was the reason for the Warriors’ poor shooting. On his way out of the Warriors’ locker room following the loss, Durant was singing a tune that he thought summed up his night.

“It’s just one of them days,” Durant sang. The line is from singer and songwriter Monica’s 1993 hit “Don’t Take It Personal” and Durant, to his credit, had a point.

The Warriors shot just 32-83 (38.6 percent from the field) and converted on only three of their 27 three-point attempts. Luck was on Denver’s side too. Per NBA.com, Golden State shot 13-40 (32.5 percent) on uncontested field goals. Klay Thompson was 3-11 on shots of that variety while Durant was 2-7. Durant and Thompson usually make more of those shots and they miss.

Durant missed a bunch of open looks and a trio of wide-open threes in the third quarter alone.

But that’s the beauty of basketball. Sometimes you’re just in the zone for 48 minutes and feel like you’re shooting into a rim that’s 18-feet wide, not 18 inches. On some nights every bucket is a grind.

Durant, Thompson, and the rest of the Warriors never got in a groove against Denver. And even though Durant’s proclamation was somewhat true and the Nuggets shouldn’t come away from the win thinking that they’re fielding an all-world defense, don’t dismiss Denver’s defense entirely as a reason for the Warriors’ struggles.

On Saturday night, it was Wilson Chandler who made life difficult for Durant. With Chandler as his primary defender, Durant shot just 3-10 from the field. On a few possessions he beat Chandler off the dribble but for the most part, Denver’s starting small forward was able to frustrate Durant in the halfcourt. Chandler shadowed him throughout the shot clock and didn’t let Durant gain too much airspace within the ebbs and flows of the Warriors’ offense.

These two Durant misses show how Chandler guarded the Most Valuable Player Candidate for most of the game. He stayed connected to Durant, denied him the ball and chased him over and around screens.

Durant shot just 6-17 from the field while Klay Thompson went 6-21. Thompson shot 3-8 from with Harris as his primary defender. The Nuggets also played great team defense against the Warriors. Their rotations were spot on all game.

Denver has improved on defense behind an emerging Mason Plumlee who’s given Denver a bit of nasty in the paint. Two-way player Torrey Craig also injected some juice into the Nuggets after his call-up from the G League last week. Trey Lyles, Harris and Chandler have all been solid on that end of the floor as well.

Are the Nuggets really the ninth-best defense in the league? Probably not. But their defense against the Warriors (combined with a little good fortune) capped a memorable two-game road trip.

It was just one of them days, for Golden State against Denver, to an extent. Durant missed shots he usually makes, as did Thompson. But Denver is a different defensive team than they were in the immediate aftermath of Millsap’s injury. They’re playing with an edge that wasn’t there earlier this season.

They bothered Durant and Thompson.

Those types of performances — like Denver had in Portland and Golden State — no matter how many open shots an opponent makes or misses instills confidence in a team.

There’s no statistic to measure that.