Denver Nuggets: 5 keys to contending in 2018-19
3. Work on their fourth quarter offense
Right now, the Nuggets rank 18th in the NBA in fourth quarter offensive rating. Their defense has helped make up for that, with their No. 1 rating in the final period. The fourth quarter is when most teams begin to rely on their best lineups to close, and the Nuggets haven’t been able to do that because of injuries to multiple players in these lineups. Their best five-man lineup features four players that have missed multiple games and Jokic.
The Joker is one of the best centers in the NBA, and he is one of the few true centers that can remain on the floor in the closing stages of the game when most teams go to smaller lineups. Jokic’s ability to find open shooters is something that is rarely seen at his position, and the team needs to get healthy and surround him with four shooters in the final period to make this offense more efficient.
The fourth quarter is where games are won. If your offense goes cold when you’re trying to put a game away, you’re not going to win in the playoffs. The Nuggets have their best opportunity in a long time to make some noise when the regular season ends, but they aren’t playing up to the necessary levels to make that happen. If they can get their offense rolling at the end of games again, they’ll be in a much better position.