Tonight, the Denver Nuggets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-89. Despite strong contributions from Nikola Jokic (30 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists +/- -1) and Will Barton (19 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, +/- -3), the rest of the Nuggets team failed to show up tonight.
Aaron Gordon and Monte Morris, struggled to score, shooting a combined 9/26 from the field, accounting for a total of 20 points. Jeff Green, did his best Tony Snell impression by playing 23 minutes and amassing a singular rebound. Yet, this is not the worst performance from the Nuggets loss.
Denver’s bench unit has been seriously struggling over the course of the season. Tonight was no different. Including garbage time minutes, Denver’s rotation consisted 8 players who scored a total of 20 points. They shot 6/32 from the field as whole and 3/19 from the three-point line. An abysmal performance on night when the starters were in need of a boost to give them a chance to win this game. PJ Dozier was the worst Nugget tonight, with a similar stat line to Jeff Green. He scored 0 points, had 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, and was a -24 in the plus/minus during his 16 minutes of action.
Despite defense being one of the Nuggets’ strong attributes this season, Denver struggled there as well. Philadelphia shot 50.6% from the field, which is above their season average at 46.7%. Denver usually holds opponents to 44.9% from the field. Denver had no answer for guards Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry. They did damage to the Nuggets, shooting a combined 17/32.
Denver continues to have the same issues plaguing them in all of their losses this season. Regardless of how great Jokic is every night, his teammates have to improve their play. Poor defense should not be a result of shots not falling on the offensive end.
Denver is on a back-to-back at Ball Arena, facing an athletic and tough Chicago Bulls team tomorrow night. Chicago is currently the second best shooting team in the league, both from three and midrange. Let’s see if the Joker and crew bring better energy against a challenging opponent.
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