DENVER — At its best, the Denver Nuggets offense is a free-flowing symphony that makes beautiful basketball music from possession to possession. The basic concepts are there, and indeed, the Nuggets run a bunch of diverse sets that typically drive defenses mad.
But at its core, head coach Michael Malone doesn’t want robotic play calls. Rather, the offense thrives off spontaneous creativity, unselfish passing and shot making that’s unrivaled in the NBA.
As Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves looms on Monday night, Denver spent Sunday morning’s film session contemplating what went wrong with an offense that’s usually a relentless execution machine. Where the offense is smooth, Game 1 was too often choppy and disjointed. Where the offense is efficient, Saturday night’s game was shocking in its inefficiency. Minnesota’s swarming defense and its tentacle-like length throughout the rotation deserve a lot of the credit.
But the Nuggets on Sunday realized that they helped the process along and that if this series is to go back to Minnesota tied at one game apiece, things must improve on Monday.
It wasn’t so much the inefficiency, the turnovers, the missed shots or that Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray couldn’t just bail out the offense. It was more that Denver was trying to find itself offensively well into the fourth quarter. That part wasn’t just surprising, it was shocking. The Nuggets are one of the best clutch offenses in the league in the last decade. And yet the clutch was when the Timberwolves were able to use an 8-0 run to stretch a 94-91 advantage into a sizable lead.
“Offensively, there were about 15 possessions where nobody had any idea what we were in,” Malone said. “We were not organized. We didn’t space the floor. We didn’t get into what we needed to. You can maybe get away with that kind of stuff in the regular season. But against a team as good as Minnesota, you simply can’t afford wasted possessions.”
Looking back at Game 1, the numbers weren’t that bad for Denver, which could add to the angst if you are a Nuggets fan. They shot 46.7 percent from the field and shot almost 42 percent from 3-point range. They turned the ball over just 12 times, but seven of those were from Jokić. And Denver scored 55 second-half points. But in the fourth quarter, where the Nuggets usually thrive, the offense deserted them at the wrong time.
So, what happened? In which ways were the Timberwolves effective against Denver’s offense? And what has to change for the Nuggets on Monday night?
As they did in a first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns, Minnesota guarded almost 94 feet. Whether it was Murray, Jokić or Reggie Jackson initiating the offense, they had a man in their grille pressuring the dribble. Those pick-up points are higher than you normally see from an NBA defense, and it bothered the Nuggets. They consistently didn’t get into their offense with a lot of time remaining on the shot clock.
That led to somewhat hurried offensive possessions, which led to the Nuggets not generating their normal quality shots. Minnesota’s ability to guard the ball at an extended level caused a chain reaction the Nuggets couldn’t solve in Game 1.
More importantly, the Timberwolves rotated fresh bodies on Jokić and Murray for 48 minutes. Jokić went from being guarded in the first round by Los Angeles Lakers big men Rui Hachimura, Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes to being guarded by Rudy Gobert, the likely NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid.
With respect to Davis, the contrast is staggering. Murray went from being guarded by Austin Reaves and Gabe Vincent to being guarded by Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Jokić and Murray looked tired on Saturday. The fatigue and the decision-making trickled down to the remainder of the rotation, which is why the Nuggets’ success in Game 2 depends largely on improved performances from its two best players.
On Sunday, Murray largely dismissed questions about his effectiveness being compromised by the left calf he strained against the Lakers. But he was held scoreless in the first half, the first time in his professional career he hasn’t scored in a half. Murray just wasn’t at his best in Game 1.
“I think everyone has injuries around this time of the year,” Murray said. “Everyone is playing through something. My calf is no different than anybody else on the team. Obviously, it sucks, but it’s not something I enjoy talking about. It’s not the reason we lost the game.”
The Nuggets are going to have to figure out a way to improve their spacing. In some ways, they let Gobert off the hook by not keeping him occupied well enough. That means possibly taking Michael Porter Jr. and putting him at the power forward spot, which would mean Christian Braun plays more off the bench. Gobert can’t hang around the paint and help against Jokić, especially if he needs to get to the perimeter and close out on Porter or Braun.
The Nuggets can’t do this exclusively because Aaron Gordon is too good and too important to be sitting on the bench. He also does a terrific job defensively against Towns and needs to spend an extensive amount on Edwards. But, the Nuggets have gone to Porter Jr. at power forward in the past to increase spacing, and in doses, this is a logical adjustment to try and loosen up the paint.
Denver’s Game 2 offense needs to be just as physical as Minnesota’s defense. The Nuggets didn’t play with enough force, but they also played sloppy basketball without enough precision. The Timberwolves might be the best defensive team in the league, but the Nuggets might have the best offense.
“This is what the playoffs are about,” Jackson said. “It’s fun. It’s fun to look yourself in the mirror and see how you can get better. It would be great to win each and every game but sweeping the playoffs probably wouldn’t be as fun when you look back at the memories. I look forward to the task.
“And, yeah, they are geared up to play against us. They know what we want to do, so it’s going to be a battle of will.”
(Photo of Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray: Justin Tafoya / NBAE via Getty Images)