DENVER - Michael Malone glanced at the scoreboard and shook his head.
Last week, the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers had just finished the third quarter in a game at Bol Center, with the defending champions trailing 88-86. The 76ers shot over 62 percent from the field in the first three quarters without the likes of defending MVP Joel Embiid and up-and-coming guard Tyrese Maxey.
Throughout the sluggish night, the Nuggets would play a wave of mini-highs, such as Jamal Murray hitting three three-pointers in a row in the first quarter and then watching Philadelphia come back.
Up to that point, it had been a game with a severe lack of defense, continuing a league-wide trend that Malone had mentioned before the game.
Now the NBA has no defense," the Nuggets head coach said, explaining why NBA stars have been scoring phenomenal almost every night this season. "You might be in the top 10 in defensive efficiency right now, but three years ago, you were in the bottom 10 in the league with the same efficiency. It's getting harder and harder to defend players individually, and the players are very skilled, players like Joel Embiid, players like Luka Doncic, players like Devin Booker. They can score. It's really hard to play a single player now. ”
Malone's statement is not too outrageous. As of Monday's game day, the New Orleans Pelicans allowed their opponents 113 per 100 offensesThe 1-point defensive efficiency ranks 10th in the league. That's almost as good as their 113 in the 2020-21 season3 same. That season, they finished 23rd in the league, the eighth-worst.
In the current NBA, dominant defensive performance rarely lasts for the entire game. The players in the lineups of the teams in the league are very strong in terms of technique. The schedule of the regular season does not provide the opportunity to develop a tactical plan for a particular opponent like the playoffs. Very few teams have been able to keep a block for 48 minutes in a row throughout the game.
However, the Nuggets are showing this season that the most critical thing is to play their best defense in crunch time. Although the journey towards defending the title was not perfect.
But the most encouraging aspect of this team's title defence was their improved defensive performance towards the end of the game. As of this week, the Nuggets have the league's No. 1 defensive efficiency at crunch time, when the game is within five points of regulation time or overtime, when the score is within five points. Their defensive efficiency in this statistical classification is 965, the league's best defensive efficiency since the 2018-19 season. This is 99 percent more efficient than last year's championship season3 is much better.
In Saturday's game (local time), the Philadelphia 76ers scored just 17 points in the final quarter. In crunch time, Philadelphia failed to hit a single shot in three minutes and scored just two points in a crucial moment in the Nuggets' 111-105 win of the game.
We needed to get better throughout the game, but I think we stepped up at the right time," said Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who contributed 23 points after the team finished a five-game road trip over 12 days. "Not all 82 games are going to be pretty. We were exhausted after the loss from New York, rested for a day and a half, and then won the game at home. This time, we finally had a stadium to cheer us on. ”
Yes, players like Paul Reed lost some of their energy late in the game, and despite his game-high 30 points in 25 minutes of playing time, Denver's defense wasn't alone. In crunch time, opponents shot just 39 percent from the field in front of the Nuggets1 is the fourth-lowest number in the league. , the opponent's shooting percentage from the three-point line is 184 is the lowest number in the league.
The Nuggets have won back-to-back games over the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers during their long road trip, and in all three games, opponents shot just 42 from the field in the fourth quarter, the fifth-lowest in the league during this period.
In their high-profile Jan. 19 win over Boston, the Nuggets limited the Celtics to 2-of-10 shooting in five minutes at critical moments, including 0-of-4 from beyond the 3-point line. During that time, the Nuggets led 8-4 in the rebounding scramble. Although the Nuggets only shot 3-of-10 during that time, they ended up winning 102-100 with the most defensive consistency of the season, handing Boston their first home loss of the season.
Malone told reporters after the game: "We all gave it our all in this game. We put all our chips on the table. ”
Given the continuity they've enjoyed, it's no surprise that the Nuggets have progressed defensively in crunch time this season. Murray, Kent**ious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr), Aaron Gordon and Nikola Joki's starting lineup — usually the closing quintee — has played 1,299 minutes together since last season. No other quintet has spent more time on the field than they have in this period.
Rotation has become instinctive. Teammates know when they need help and when they don't. The longer you spend together, the easier it will be to maintain a tacit understanding.
As of Monday night (local time) at home against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nuggets had a 32-15 record, trailing only the Western Conference leaders Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder at half time. That's just one less win than the same period last year (33-14), when Denver comfortably won first place in the league's Western Conference.
However, this season is more competitive. The top teams in the Western Conference — the Timberwolves, Thunder, Clippers and Nuggets — entered the game on Monday with just one game separating. In the run-up to the upcoming All-Star break, Denver is facing a daunting task in order to secure home-court advantage during the playoffs.
But the Nuggets have Jokic, who continues to play at an MVP level. He is the biggest reason to believe that he can defend his title. In the final moments of the race, another reason for optimism continued to emerge.
It's not easy to stay solid defensively throughout the NBA today, but like any other team, the Nuggets, as usual, are able to demonstrate their ability to stop the pair from scoring in the most crucial moments. This is the second most important factor in building the foundation of the defending champions.