Denver Nuggets: 3 big questions heading into 2018-19 NBA season
2. How much will the defense struggle?
As mentioned on the previous slide, Denver hasn’t been known for its defense in recent seasons. In fact, the Nuggets haven’t ranked better than 24th on the defensive end since the 2013-14 season.
The limitation for Denver is the lack of quality defenders on the roster. The majority of the team’s likely starting lineup projects to be below-average defenders, starting with Jokic, Murray and Barton. While Paul Millsap is a quality defender and Harris could take another step as a perimeter presence on that end, those two won’t be able to make up for the liabilities around them.
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Millsap playing more than 38 games would help, but the team will really need Harris to improve and for Murray and Barton to provide consistent effort on that end of the floor if Denver hopes to make a jump defensively.
While watching an all-offense team can be exciting and fun, there is certainly a limit on such a team’s success. Despite common assumptions, a majority of the “Seven Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns teams posted defenses that ranked anywhere between 15-20th in the league — much better than their reputation would suggest.
Another recent example of an offensive-minded team is the 2016-17 Houston Rockets, who used the second-ranked offense to make up for the 18th-ranked defense, eventually winning 55 games and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals. If the Nuggets can post such an elite offense, they will be able to make the playoffs with a lackluster defense. However, their path to playoff contention certainly starts with improvement on the defensive end.