Admittedly, the Nuggets are still in the top 4 of the Western Conference but Nikola Jokic and his troop remain on three defeats in a row and the problems seem multiple in Denver, like the defense (115.1 points collected for 100 possessions, 20th defense of NBA) or the contribution of the bench (26.3 points scored per game, 28th place of NBA), and there is another one who annoys the men of Colorado: ball losses. This season, the Nuggets lose an average of 14.4 bullets per meeting, which places them in 13th rank of the most expensive teams.
This Friday, against Golden State, the band of Nikola Jokic Thus lost 26 balloons (including a 24 -second violation), a substantial number and which weighed the Nuggets, As Mike Malone explained At a press conference after the meeting.
“I told my players before the meeting they [les Warriors] were the team that made the most interceptions per game and they intercepted 14 balls. We have chained inattention errors. It is a battle of possessions and because of the losses of the ball, they are given additional possessions. »»
Indeed, as Mike Malone analyzes, the Warriors won the “Battle of possession” by managing to take more shots than the Nuggets (88 against 74) and even if Denver was more skilful (54.1% success against 48.9% for Golden State), these additional possessions cost dearly to Colorado franchise.
Linked to their style of play?
Nuggets thus deliver, on average, 31 assists per game and They dominate the NBA in this category. The more they make passes, the more likely they are to lose the ball, as underline Aaron Gordon After this defeat against the Warriors: “You can't lose the balloons like that, you have to shoot each possession, but the more you pass, the more you risk losing the ball. We have to be better, we have to pay more attention and when we play on counterattack, we must score. »»
Same bell sound On the side of Nikola Jokic Who noted that this problem had been recurrent since the start of the season and that the Nuggets had to play a better basketball as the playoffs approached.
With four remaining games to play, Mike Malone's men must try to correct the shot in order to hang the playoffs without going through the “Play-in” box. Denver is therefore, for the moment, 4th in the west, on a series of three consecutive defeats, and sees the Warriors (5th), the Wolves (6th), but also the Play-In teams, namely clippers and grizzly groves, come and put pressure on them …
| Shots | Rebound | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | Lf | Off | Def | Early | PD | COP | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Nikola Jokic | 65 | 36.7 | 57.5 | 41.6 | 80.3 | 2.9 | 9.9 | 12.8 | 10.2 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 29.7 |
| Jamal Murray | 65 | 36.3 | 47.6 | 39.6 | 88.7 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 21.6 |
| Michael Porter, Jr. | 72 | 33.6 | 50.4 | 39.8 | 76.4 | 1.8 | 5.2 | 7.0 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 18.2 |
| Christian Braun | 74 | 33.7 | 57.4 | 38.8 | 82.5 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 15.2 |
| Aaron Gordon | 46 | 27.8 | 53.0 | 46.1 | 79.9 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 14.3 |
| Russell Westbrook | 70 | 28.3 | 45.2 | 33.0 | 64.2 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 13.4 |
| Julian Strawther | 61 | 22.1 | 43.4 | 35.7 | 82.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 9.4 |
| Peyton Watson | 63 | 24.4 | 47.9 | 36.2 | 69.2 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 8.3 |
| JALEN PICKETT | 44 | 12.7 | 43.4 | 40.2 | 83.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 3.9 |
| Deandre Jordan | 52 | 12.6 | 65.6 | 0.0 | 43.1 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 3.8 |
| Dario Saric | 16 | 13.1 | 36.2 | 26.9 | 70.0 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.5 |
| Zeke Nnaji | 55 | 10.8 | 50.0 | 33.3 | 61.9 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 3.3 |
| Hunter Tyson | 49 | 8.1 | 37.8 | 31.1 | 73.1 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.7 |
| Vlatko Cancar | 12 | 11.0 | 38.5 | 26.7 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2.0 |
| Pj hall | 19 | 3.5 | 58.3 | 25.0 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.7 |
| Trey Alexander | 22 | 5.0 | 30.0 | 17.6 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.4 |
| Spencer Jones | 20 | 6.2 | 32.4 | 5.9 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
