If Nuggets coach George Karl was skeptical about whether the Nuggets new defense-first philosophy would be embraced by the players, most of those concerns are gone with the season near.
“The intensity and changing of philosophy or prioritizing the game in a different way has not only been accepted, but enthusiastically accepted,” Karl said after Monday’s practice. “And hopefully it’s the right decision. My whole thing is we’ve been too offensively oriented, and hopefully this year we’ll be balanced.”
The Nuggets open the season Wednesday at Utah.
Prior to the start of training camp, Karl pledged to get tougher on players who didn’t commit to defense.
“I just think we’re a lot better because we focused so much on that in training camp,” guard Allen Iverson said. “We feel like with solid defense and the offensive weapons that we have, the sky’s the limit for us. We get in here and we get after it. We do the things good on offense, but I think guys get more excited about getting stops. And that’s been different since I’ve been here.”
During the preseason, Nuggets opponents averaged 96.3 points and shot 43.4 percent from the floor. Denver forced 21.4 turnovers as well.
“I think we’re ready,” guard J.R. Smith said. “We’re able to defend now. Hopefully we can just transition it from practice to the games.”
Footnote
Smith said he wasn’t sure how much point guard he’ll play during the season, though it is expected he’ll be used at that spot on occasion. The Nuggets start the season with just one healthy point guard, Anthony Carter.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
