How Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are winning with defense

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 08: Bones Hyland #3 of the Denver Nuggets celebrates with Nikola Jokic #15 against the Miami Heat at Ball Arena on November 8, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /

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Kevin Porter Jr. #3 of the Houston Rockets passes against the Denver Nuggets (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)”n /

The stats show how great the Denver Nuggets are on defense

Turns out, they are above-average at everything:

eFG%: 51.3% – 13th in the league
TOV%: 16.0% – 11th
oREB%: 22.5% – Third
FTM/FGA: 15.2 – Sixth

To summarize, the Denver Nuggets hold teams to a reasonable shooting percentage, force a solid amount of turnovers, never let teams get their own misses, and keep teams from making free throws. Sounds pretty good when laid out like that!

The Nuggets were 11th in defense last year, too, with pretty much the same roster, and were 16th and 11th the two years before that. This is a team with a solid track record of defense, and they are playing better than ever on that end of the court.

Unlike, say, the Bucks, who generally run the same defense every game, the Nuggets have been fluid to start the year. Blitzes, hedges, dropbacks, and switches have all been in regular rotation without being predictable. This keeps offenses on their toes and makes it so they are unable to gameplan effectively.

One major positive that should be sustainable – the Denver Nuggets never give up in transition. This is a high-energy team that always hustles back. They’re giving up a miserly 108 points per 100 transition plays, the fourth-stingiest mark in the league, and give up transition plays at the fifth-lowest rate.

If other teams aren’t getting fast-break points, how are they scoring? Denver does give up a ton of corner threes, which is usually a bad sign, and opponents are hitting them at roughly league-average rates. Teams have scored well at the rim against the Nuggets, but this is primarily due to the complete lack of a rim protector behind Jokic.

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