The Denver Nuggets are on battle avenue defensively. Their present score is 114.4. The solely groups with a worse score are the Spurs, Pistons, Magic and Rockets.
Their poor protection is as a result of a quantity of elements…
1. NIKOLA JOKIC IS SICK OF EVERYONE’S SH*T.
Now of course, the person is nonetheless placing up MVP numbers. In their 121-106 loss in opposition to the Pelicans tonight he scored 32 factors, 16 rebounds and 9 assists but it surely appears as if pictures he would have contested final season, he simply isn’t bothering with in 2023.
27-year-old Jokic had a defensive score of 105.3 in 2021-22. His present defensive score is 110.9 this season, which places him exterior the highest 22 lead gamers within the league.
Other large males across the league like Brook Lopez (105.2), DeAndre Ayton (108.5) and Rudy Gobert (109.7) are inside that top 22.
In October this 12 months, he had 9.0 defensive rebounds per sport which was all the way down to 7.2 in November, whereas on the offensive finish, his rebounds had been 2.1 in October and had been 1.7 in November.
Compare that to final season, the place his defensive rebounding was 11.8 in October and 10.3 in November. While offensive rebounds per sport had been totalled at 3.0 in October and 2.6 in November.
Unfortunately, carrying a complete crew in your again for a number of seasons takes its toll. He’s the crew’s chief in factors, rebounds, assists and steals to start out the season and nobody else even comes shut.
Jamal Murray is averaging 17.9 factors, which is the second behind Jokic. Amazingly, energy ahead Aaron Gordon leads the crew in blocks (0.9) whereas Jokic is second (0.6).
2. MURRAY IS USUALLY ONE OF THE WORST DEFENSIVE PLAYERS ON THE FLOOR
Murray missed the whole lot of final season as a result of a torn ACL in his left knee which he suffered in a sport in opposition to the Warriors final April and didn’t play for 18 months, so of course he is going to be a bit rusty. But that definitely isn’t serving to issues.
Murray has performed in 17 of the Nugget’s 23 video games up to now this season and has a defensive score of 116.2. He scored 18 factors, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in opposition to New Orleans.
He is averaging 3.2 rebounds per sport, the sixth-best within the crew and has the ninth-worst offensive rebounds per sport (0.6) within the crew and has a true taking pictures proportion of 53.6 this season.
Their second unit with DeAndre Jordan and Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland are fairly common on the defensive finish and stagnant on offense. While head coach Michael Malone chooses to depart younger gamers Christian Braun and Zeke Nnaji on the bench.
Tonight, Jordan (who performed practically all of the minutes Jokic earned a relaxation) completed as a team-worst minus-19 in 8:40 of enjoying time.
The crew completed tonight with a whole of 22 assists in opposition to 19 turnovers. Jokic, Brown and Ish Smith completed with 4 turnovers every and even with out Alvarado’s 38-point haul, the Pels bench outscored the Nuggets’ reserves 24-18.
3. THEY ADDED BRUCE BROWN, KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE AND GORDON, WHO ARE JUST NOT THERE DEFENSIVELY.
For the final two years they’ve struggled defensively however by including good perimeter defenders, would you suppose they’d be higher on this class?
Jose Alvarado tap-danced throughout them tonight and a few days in the past, the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray and AJ Griffin had been utterly dominant.
Brown is enjoying half-hour and getting 4.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocks, whereas KCP is averaging 3.0 rebounds and 0.4 blocks however Gordon has the second finest rebounding common (6.6) behind Jokic.
On the offensive finish, Caldwell-Pope’s stretch of video games scoring lower than ten factors is at 5 and as nicely, he was the one starter to not rating in double figures within the loss.
After seeing the stats their opponents are placing up after each Nuggets sport, their perimeter protection wants to enhance.
It shall be attention-grabbing to see whether or not they could make it out of the west this season.
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