Another home game for the Nuggets, and another disappointing loss in Ball Arena to a subpar team. Denver got off to a hot start, leading by as many as 17 in the first half, but the defense fell off a cliff, and they ultimately fell to the Mavericks, 131-121.
The Nuggets fall to 14-6 with the loss, and they’ve now dropped four in a row at home. The Mavericks improved to just 7-15 with the win, by far their most impressive of the season.
Most concerning for Denver, this loss featured all of the familiar red flags we’ve seen this year and in the past. The defense was simply rudderless, allowing 128+ points for the fourth home game in a row. They let the Mavs shoot 56% from the floor and 52% on threes.
They aren’t doing a good enough job of stopping the ball, and they’re not closing out and contesting shots either. It’s leading to easy, effortless offense for opponents, and to see a team like Dallas feasting like this is extremely concerning.
Defense and depth doom Nuggets again
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Beyond the paltry defense, it was the team’s depth letting them down again. They’re playing without two starters in Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon, plus a solid bench cog in Julian Strawther, and the absences are starting to add up.
The Nuggets were forced to start Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson, and the shortened bench is catching up with them. Nikola Jokic put together a strong 29/20/13 showing, but Jamal Murray wasn’t at his best, and that was too much for the Nuggets to withstand.
The lack of reinforcements was apparent, and when the team had to lean on bench lineups, the game got away. The lack of creation, ballhandling, and playmaking, especially when Murray and/or Jokic is off the floor, is a major concern.
The thought was that the Nuggets cleaned up their depth and defense in the offseason, but with the early injuries, things are starting to look an awful lot like last season, and that’s exactly what Monday night felt like.
The Nuggets looked lifeless on defense, hopeless without their starting lineup, and pretty pedestrian overall whenever things weren’t running through Jokic. It’s a tough look and a frustrating one, but as concerning as this is, it’s not time to panic yet.
These are growing pains, and the team still needs to learn to play without key guys. It’s an opportunity for the bench players, and it gives David Adelman and his staff a chance to experiment. Above all, it allows the front office to get a good look at the roster and see if changes need to be made for this team to reach its ultimate goal.