Renck: Defense is a hobby for the Nuggets. And right now it looks like they have canceled their dance class membership and shoved the guitar back into the closest. It is rare after a team splits a weekend series to say it was the low point of the season, but the performances against the El Segundo Lakers and Washington Generals were that bad. From nobodies to never-weres, the Nuggets don’t discriminate. They give up points to everyone. This, some insist, is an overreaction. It was back-to-back games. They were tired. They can still secure the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. But after watching them scramble to beat the Lakers and get swept by the Wizards, the question must be asked: Are the Nuggets cooked as championship contenders?
Keeler: I’ll admit it: Jordan Poole broke my brain. But he didn’t entirely crush my spirit, either. Of the last seven NBA champs, five finished the regular season ranked among the top 10 in defensive efficiency. The only two that didn’t pass that smell test? Golden State (which ranked 11th) in 2018, and … your Nuggets (15th) in ’23. If you’re looking for a ray of hope, it’s this: Team defense is even less of an accurate predictor when it comes to reaching, or even winning, the Western Conference Finals. Of the previous 14 teams to make the WCF, only seven brought a top-10 defense to the party. And of those seven WCF winners, only three did so with defenses that ranked among the top 10. Championship contenders? That seat might be a little too hot. WCF contenders? Ain’t closing that door. Yet.
Renck: The metrics reveal the story. The Nuggets are atrocious defensively in the first quarter, then tighten up as the game proceeds believing they can outscore anyone and win in the clutch. It is a flawed strategy when looking at the upcoming playoffs. They know it. Coach Michael Malone has pleaded with this team to play harder, and the results don’t change. The pieces don’t fit, and the effort is questionable. Christian Braun, his shot a pleasant surprise, is not as good defensively as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have gotten worse. And Aaron Gordon has been hurt. Say it out loud and it sounds like a team that will be lucky to avoid another second-round exit.
Keeler: You can’t keep shedding good veteran defenders — KCP and Bruce Brown, in particular — and not feel the pain. And it hurt even more to hear Jokic admit as much (sort of) after the game on Saturday night: “We don’t have the confidence,” the Joker noted, “that we can defend.” Yikes.
Renck: The Nuggets know what they have to do. But either they won’t or can’t. And that is an indictment of the current roster, of Malone getting tuned out and general manager Calvin Booth making bad offseason moves that left him sitting on his hands at the trade deadline. It is impossible to defend the Nuggets’ postseason chances when they refuse to defend themselves.
Keeler: True, but I’ll add one tiny asterisk to the Wizards sweep: Aaron Gordon, the best defender left on this roster, didn’t play in either game. And you’d have a hard time convincing me he wouldn’t have made a difference covering 6-foot-8 Kyshawn George (4 for 8 on 3-pointers on Saturday) or 7-footer Alex Sarr (5 for 9). To paraphrase the late, great Yogi Berra, defense is 90% mental — the other half is physical. If the Nuggets can’t get out of their own heads, they sure as heck won’t be able to get inside other teams’ noggins come crunch time.
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