The Nuggets were ranked No. 8 in the NBA in team defensive rating heading into Friday night, allowing 112.6 points per 100 possessions at the 36-game mark of the season. At the same time last year, they were a couple of points worse — enough of a difference relative to the rest of the league that Denver ranked 25th. Here are five reasons the Nuggets have improved defensively after winning a championship.
Swatson’s ascendance
In terms of personnel, it certainly helps that the Nuggets have the same starting five as last season. From a communication and cohesiveness standpoint, any group of players should theoretically improve with more time together. Denver’s starting lineup is 1.2 points better at the defensive end so far, checking that box.
But changes to the roster are more illuminating. Peyton Watson is replacing the minutes of multiple 2022-23 bench players, and he’s leading the team in individual defensive rating (108.9). In those same minutes, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green had defensive ratings of 113 and 115, respectively.
Watson is still in essence a rookie being asked to guard opposing teams’ best players. His defensive field goal percentage is a strong 42.7% against the likes of Kevin Durant and De’Aaron Fox. He’s displaying potential to become one of the best shot-blocking wings in the game. He’s averaging 0.9 per game currently, as many as Nikola Jokic despite playing half as many minutes. And he has earned his way into Michael Malone’s closing lineup for several clutch situations recently, a testament to unprecedented trust in a player so young on a roster so talented.
Limiting 3-pointers
Schematically, this is where the Nuggets are similarly successful to last season. The champs finished near the top of the league in 3-point defense. So far this year, they’re No. 10 in opponent 3-point percentage (35.8%), but more importantly, No. 5 in made 3-pointers allowed per game (11.3) and No. 3 in attempts allowed per game (31.5).
Denver’s coaching staff recognizes how 3-point centric the NBA has grown over the years. So, especially when Jokic is on the floor, the Nuggets are willing to sell out to prevent the three against the most common play type in the league.
“We play Nikola a ton, and we’re outliers in terms of pick-and-roll defense,” Malone told The Denver Post. “A lot of teams have their center, their five-man, down the floor. We have our center up the floor a lot. We like to be impactful to the ball-handler. … That puts a lot of pressure on your weak side. So you have to have tremendous, multiple-effort, fly-around mentality.”
On the most crucial defensive possession of a 130-127 regular-season classic at Golden State on Thursday night, the Nuggets relied on that weak side “fly-around mentality” to win the game. Jokic stepped up on Steph Curry immediately when he saw the ball screen coming, even though it left the entire space inside the arc vacant behind him (the Warriors had cleared out to both corners). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope eventually fought around Chris Paul to double-team the best 3-point shooter of all time. Jamal Murray, covering ground on the weak side, intercepted Curry’s pass.
Not a bunch of pickpockets
A characteristic usually associated with good defensive teams is a systematic emphasis on applying suffocating, mistake-inducing pressure. Pile up steals. Be the aggressors.
That’s not how the Nuggets are doing business. Instead, they’re holding teams to 46.2% shooting, which is the NBA’s ninth-best defensive field goal percentage, while sitting at 18th in steals per game (7.1) and 26th in opponent turnovers (12.5). Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon continue to anchor the starting lineup in this area, combining to defend against 20.8 shots per game and holding their matchups to 41.6%.
On top of that, the Nuggets play disciplined defense and disrupt shots without fouling. They’re 10th in free throw attempts allowed per game (22.5) and seventh-best at preventing their opponents from drawing fouls frequently.
“You can play really good defense,” Malone said, “but if you put your opponent on the foul line 25-30 times a night, that’s gonna kill your defensive rating.”
Ratcheting it up in the clutch
According to the NBA’s database, the Nuggets have played 63 minutes of “clutch time” as of Friday, constituted as situations when the score is within five points during the last five minutes of regulation or overtime.
How do they handle the stakes? With championship poise. The Nuggets’ clutch defensive rating is 101.5, fourth-best in the league. Their clutch defensive rebounding percentage is fifth. Their clutch 3-point defense is second (21.2%).
The 18-point comeback at Golden State was also a great example of this quality. Denver conceded 44 points in a ghastly third quarter then proceeded to magically limit the Warriors to 20 in the fourth, including four points in the last 6 minutes, 30 seconds.
The best defense: A good offense?
“I do think it always starts on the offensive end,” Malone told The Post this week, inverting the usual premise that the best offense is a good defense.
The defining stat of the Nuggets’ season so far is their league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.43 as of Friday. They’re playing impeccably clean basketball at the offensive end, as long as at least one starter is on the floor. It amounts to the No. 7 offensive rating.
“That means we’re not giving up as many live-ball turnovers, which are fueling teams’ breaks,” Malone said. “We’re making teams play in the half-court, which is always a good thing for us.”
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