The price the Nuggets have paid for a training camp full of defense is a regular-season start with little offense. A team that played fast last season has begun this one in quicksand, struggling to get good looks. And it’s not sitting well with some players.
At the head of the frustration table sits Allen Iverson.
The guard, who also has battled injuries, is getting 13.3 shots per game, which is well below the 18.9 shots he averaged last season. He took just eight shots Saturday night in the Nuggets’ loss to the Lakers and didn’t feel like discussing the matter with the media afterward, leaving without uttering a word.
Also frustrated is Nene, the Nuggets’ only low-post threat, who took only five shots against the Lakers a night after going 10-of-15 for 22 points against the Clippers. Nene had one shot in the second half, and he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Nene’s lack of activity took Lakers forward Pau Gasol off the hook of having to guard him.
“Nene didn’t get enough touches, I think, especially in the second half,” Gasol said. “That guy didn’t see the ball.”
The problem is getting shots up. The Nuggets are averaging 78.6 shots per game and are clearly out of sync on the offensive end.
The Nuggets averaged 85.8 shots last season; they took 74 against the Lakers. Last season, the season low was 73.
Although the shooting percentage is nearly identical (47.0 percent last season, compared with 45.8 in the first three games), Denver’s scoring is down 9.4 points a game (110.7 compared with 101.3) so far.
“It’ll come,” forward Kenyon Martin said. “We’ve got great scorers on this team, got guys that can make plays. Offense is probably behind the defense, but that was the emphasis that we put every day.”
Guard J.R. Smith says the key is getting the basketball back in the hands of the team’s scoring stars.
“We’ve got to get A.I. and Melo more touches and get them back to their old selves,” Smith said. “Guys like myself have to come off the bench and be more explosive, start cutting more, stop standing and watching everybody else do what they do and just try to help them as much as we can.”
Anthony played his first game with the Nuggets on Saturday after a two-game suspension and looked rusty. He said he isn’t worried about the Nuggets’ offensive struggles just three games into the season.
“I don’t think we’re that far off, but I do think there are some things we need to work on,” Anthony said. “I think we forgot that we are a scoring basketball team, a running basketball team. In training camp we put so much emphasis on defense, which is not a bad thing, but kind of threw offense to the side. So it’s going to take some time on the offensive end for us to get clicking and get back used to playing with each other.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
