For all the good that the first-year head coach David Adelman has done for the Nuggets, he has not been able to get the Nuggets to play good defense. In the last two games, both vs. the top-ranked teams from each conference, the OKC Thunder and the Detroit Pistons, the Nuggets gave up open shot after open shot. They didn't play physical, have given up easy buckets in the paint, and have just generally been poor on defense.
Against the Thunder, the Nuggets were extremely slow in rotating, and OKC made them pay for it. Specifically, Cason Wallace did. He had a career-high seven made threes in the game, most of them wide-open looks. You can't give the defending champs that kind of space, or any top shooting team for that matter. You'll always pay for a poor rotation.
In their next game vs. the Pistons, they were exposed on the inside, too. Multiple layups and easy drives to the hoop were commonplace. Maybe the Joker is still hurting a bit, and that affected some of his ability to move around the paint. But it doesn't excuse this kind of lackadaisical defense.
And to top it off, the Nuggets started slow, again. It's been so common this season that Nuggets announcer Chris Marlowe alluded to it midway through the first quarter, already trailing by 10. They've got to get settled in on defense early and stop playing catch-up throughout the game. They outscored the Pistons by 16 in the second half. Unfortunately, they were outscored by 19 in the first.
The offense is still very potent
The silver lining is that the Nuggets still have the league's top offense, with an offensive rating of 120.8, and they rank second in total points per game at 120. We've heard the expression that your best defense is a good offense. But in today's NBA, everyone can shoot; you still have to make it difficult for opposing players to get off a clean look.
The Nuggets are also still playing at less than full strength. Like Groundhog Day to start the month, Aaron Gordon saw his shadow and will miss six more weeks, but he'll be ready to go for the playoff push. Cameron Johnson should be returning to the lineup after the All-Star break. Christian Braun returned against the Pistons and saw 25 minutes. Jokic, who has been on a minutes restriction since returning from a knee injury, played 33 minutes, and from a conditioning standpoint, looks fully recovered.
I fully expect the offense to improve when AG returns to the lineup. More points are good because the defense has been pretty bad.