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After acquiring Aaron Gordon before the 2021 NBA trade deadline, the Denver Nuggets were primed to have a deep playoff run and possibly even reach the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, Jamal Murray sustained a torn ACL injury in March, while Michael Porter Jr. incurred issues again with his back at the early juncture of this season.
The Nuggets were still able to reach the second round without Murray, but without two out of their three stars, Nikola Jokic is forced to carry the load every game. He played all 72 games last season, but he has already missed five games this year. Jokic will possibly be worn out at the latter part of the season, and the Nuggets are struggling with a 15-16 record. The problems will grow throughout the season, and head coach Michael Malone will continue being challenged to figure things out for his squad.
Scoring load to aid Jokic consistently
The return of Murray and Porter Jr. are still not determined, meaning 45-50 points from their two main players are missing every game. Their lineup has been decimated already, and their role players have been inconsistent in showing up every night. With the heightened expectations for this franchise, it will be difficult for them to rack up victories if the support behind Jokic is missing for numerous games.
In the last game of the Nuggets, Jokic had 29 points and 21 rebounds, but when the Charlotte Hornets went on a huge fourth quarter run, Denver had no others play except feed Jokic the ball and make him manufacture shots. Monte Morris, Aaron Gordon, and Jeff Green are some of their rotational pieces that have proven to be capable double-digit scorers, thus they need to get their act together and provide a scoring boost for Denver every game.
Attack the rim more
With the absence of their two key cogs, shot creating is becoming an issue for this lineup. They still have the best passing big man in NBA history, but their secondary playmakers have a difficult time running their offensive schemes. With Jokic on the floor this season, Denver is +10.6 over 100 possessions, but they are a -15.0 with him on the bench.
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It is obvious that majority of the problems of Denver occurs during non-Jokic minutes, thus their second unit must be more aggressive and attacking the rim because it will open up opportunities for all five players on the floor. Denver is just 29th in the association in free throws made per game, but increasing that number forces defenses to focus on others as well and not just Jokic.
Play tougher, hard-nosed defense
Some previous iterations of NBA champions were less talented, but they would be phenomenal defensively. This Nuggets roster is undermanned, but the effort and determination to contain or disrupt their opponents could still be incredible. That has not been the case for Denver as they are 20th in defensive rating and allowing the fifth-most points in the paint.
Jokic was never known for his defensive prowess, and along with that, their lack of size has been exposed in the defensive side of the court. Moreover, the starting backcourt of Morris and Will Barton has been having trouble keeping their man in front of them which causes the other men to be on scramble mode. When their defense is not set, it causes others to push the pace more and force mismatches every possession.
The Nuggets are not known as one of the top teams in the association in terms of defense, but they must be at least top 10 or 12 if they have deep playoff aspirations. When their defense is lethal, it could likely address their two other problems as well because constant stops would lead to easier baskets offensively. Being able to prevent easy buckets gives them better opportunities of attacking the rim as their supporting cast would excel more rather on transition.
Murray and Porter Jr's return continues to be uncertain, but these vital problems must be addressed soon for the Nuggets to make at least a top six seed this season.
