Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are surprisingly in the middle of a losing skid. They have lost all their last three games following a 122-120 upset defeat at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets at home on Sunday. Prior to that, the Nuggets lost to the San Antonio Spurs on the road, 128-120, and to the Chicago Bulls, 117-96, at home, last Friday and Wednesday, respectively. See the trend?
Defense has seemingly become a big problem of late for the Nuggets, who have allowed an average of 122.3 points to their last three opponents. That's the seventh-worst in the NBA over that span.
Despite Nikola Jokic stuffing the stat sheets in the Brooklyn game with 35 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists, the Nuggets still ended up taking an L.
In addition to that, the Nuggets have also let the Nets, Spurs, and Bulls combine for 46.3 field goals made average on a 52.1 percent shooting from the floor. That kind of defense from Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets is simply not going to make Malone happy, but it's also on the head coach to find a way to fix that particular team issue.
“The last 3 games our defense has been non-existent,” Malone said after the Nuggets' loss to Brooklyn (via Katy Winge). Malone also stated that he is looking for players who can actually defend.
Hopefully for Malone, that will give Denver a spark, as they prepare for a five-game road trip that kicks off this Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors.
On the season, the Nuggets are giving up only 113.0 points per game, currently 13th in the entire league.
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