NBA Halloween: Playing trick-or-treat with each team’s early season trend

Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 31
Next
NBA
Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images /

Denver Nuggets

Nuggets have a top-five defense: Trick

The Denver Nuggets — yes, the same Denver Nuggets that ranked 23rd in defensive rating last year — are currently a top-five defense in the NBA. They should be better on that end based on some of Michael Malone’s tweaks, Paul Millsap being healthy and Nikola Jokic making strides on that end, but this reeks of “small sample size alert.”

There is evidence to suggest the Nuggets will be much better on that end as long as Millsap stays healthy. Last year, the four-man lineup of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Millsap and Jokic posted a superb 102.5 defensive rating. Though it came in a small, 25-game sample size, that would’ve been good enough for a top-five defensive rating last year.

Denver spots a 101.4 defensive rating at the moment, which ranks third in the NBA. However, even though that feels unsustainable, Nuggets fans would be more than happy with respectable defense to supplement the high-powered offense, even if they slip out of the NBA’s top five in defensive rating.