Coaching | In defense, nuggets no longer create the screen …

This is one of the arguments put forward by the pro-SGA in the race for the MVP: while the Thunder displays the best defense of the league (106.2 points conceded on 100 possessions) this season, the Nuggets point to 21st place in the defensive classification (114.7 points conceded on 100 possessions) with a Nikola Jokic target…

Admittedly, the Serbian troop has always been much better in attack than in defense but, last year, Denver was still in 8th place on this side of the field. Two years ago, Zach Lowe notably had detailed on espn How Mike Malone had found ways to hide the defensive limits of his pivot, especially on the pick-and-roll. During the 2023 finals against the Heat, It was even a recital. Thanks to the intelligence of placement of his pivot, and the multiplication of covers, the nuggets had thus generally clogged this problem.

Force Nikola Jokic to cover a lot of land

Except that this year, Denver is much more brittle on the pick-and-roll. Luka Doncic and the Lakers had already demonstrated it during their last confrontation, and the Wolves displayed it again last night.

Because when he had to be gave up in the third quarter, while the locals got closer, it was by taking advantage of the openings on the pick-And-Roll that Anthony Edwards and his teammates returned to the open sea. In particular by finding many times a McDaniel jaden completely open in the left corner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3miyztxduhg

The Wolves have continuously forced Nikola Jokic to work defensively, the high screens of Rudy Gobert forcing him in particular to come and hinder the opposing exteriors, sometimes several times on the same possession.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m06yznbfeba

But how can we explain this drop in defensive efficiency, especially on the pick-and-roll? The absence of Aaron Gordon does not help, but the main problem seems to be the defense on the “point of Attack”, that is to say on the carrier of the opposing balloon. Because last year, it is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who was maneuvering.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the first line lost

And one of the great forces of “KCP”it was his ability to “break the screens” opposing, avoiding them to be able to follow his own player, or by struck them to slow down the screen installer.

This force allowed Nikola Jokic, too slow on his lateral trips to “switch” in a systematic way on opposing leaders and rear enough to be an intimidator on the “drop coverage” to defend in “up” or “hedge”, that is to say by showing the bearer of the ball Let go of the ball, while limiting the necessary rotations behind his back. By breaking the screens, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope thus limited the offsets behind his back, and in that of his pivot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wizhbigre8

Even if he is a solid defender, Christian Braun is much less effective in this task, and there is therefore a chain reaction behind, with passes much easier to do in the back of Nikola Jokic, the teammates of the “Joker” being forced to make more rotations … potentially generating more errors.

The problem therefore does not seem necessarily linked to a defensive regression of the Serbian pivot, but rather to a degradation of the spider web set up around it, and its qualities.