What will always jump out most on the screen when watching the 2022-23 Denver Nuggets is their offense. Through three quarters against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, it looked like they reached the level of special that Keanu Reeves reached in The Matrix when he stopped the bullets. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, while they scored a playoff franchise record 106 points through three quarters, their defense gave up 92.
After two rounds of the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets appeared to have solved the issues with their defense that finished the regular season ranked 15th in defensive rating. Going into Game 1 the Nuggets had the second-best defensive rating of all teams in the postseason — trailing only the Lakers.
Some of that success is a result of playing the televised high-speed chase of an NBA team known as the Minnesota Timberwolves. The highs and lows of that team can goose a defensive rating. However, in Round 2 their defensive performance was still strong against the Phoenix Suns even with Devin Booker lighting nets on fire.
While the Nuggets’ defensive rating in Round 2 was the worst of the four conference finalists, to be fair the Miami Heat played against the New York Knicks. Once Tom Thibodeau’s crew ceased to dominate the offensive glass they had no offense, so the Heat’s dominant semifinal defensive rating is likely an aberration.
Then in Game 1, the Nuggets began their Western Conference Final matchup against the team with by far the worst offensive rating of those remaining in the postseason. Even with Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Lakers are scoring nearly three less points per 100 possessions than the Heat who have been without Tyler Herro since Game 1 of the first round.
In the third quarter of Game 1, the Nuggets’ shot-making was spellbinding. They shot 70 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the 3-point line. It was as if the basket was the fence at Coors Field and the Nuggets’ shot attempts were batting practice for Barry Bonds in the thin mile-high air.
The problem for the Nuggets, the Lakers shot 75 percent from the field in that quarter. They didn’t shoot nearly as well from three, but the shots they were able to create faced little to no resistance. Open 15-footers from both sides of the free-throw line, James bullying his way to the basket, Davis spinning and fading at will, the quarter looked like a second shootaround for the Lakers.
Any “de-fense” chants from the Ball Arena crowd had no effect on the Nuggets in the fourth. They were outscored by the Lakers in the final period, and as their hot shooting cooled they were dangerously close to letting a historic offensive performance result in falling to 0-1 at home.
Darvin Ham adjusted to the Nuggets’ offensive onslaught by putting Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokić. It allowed Davis to help on Jokić as opposed to guarding him one on one and getting beaten up and worn down. After a scintillating three quarters, Jokić missed his only two field-goal attempts of the fourth quarter and committed two of his five turnovers.
Yes, the Nuggets were able to escape with a 132-126 victory, but they have questions that need answers in less than 48 hours. As great as the Nuggets’ offense is, they cannot count on record-setting performances on that side of the ball to buoy them to the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance.
What they need to be able to count on, is for the Lakers not to shoot 75 percent from the field in one quarter and 56.3 percent in the next, largely because of open looks. Even after the trade deadline, for those final 20-plus games the Lakers had the 14th-best offensive rating in the league.
If the Nuggets don’t get their defense back on track by Thursday, they will be headed to Downtown L.A. tied 1-1.