What the Nuggets are going through right now can simply be called “slippage.” And it is much more distressing than a random bad performance here and there.
For nearly a month and a half, Nuggets coach George Karl has discussed small concerns in bits and pieces. Put them all together and you have a team that has become rough around the edges.
Denver has lost three in a row — giving up 116.7 points per game in the process — has been beaten by two sub-.500 teams in the past five days (the Nuggets had lost just twice to those types of teams all season) and has seen decreased offensive efficiency in pressure situations.
Though there are just 25 games left in the season and in the ever-tightening Northwest Division race, the Nuggets profess not to panic. There are injuries involved.
Carmelo Anthony is dealing with multiple ailments, Nene is likely out for the week with a bruised knee and Kenyon Martin is jousting with back spasms. Those three account for 49.3 points and 21.4 rebounds per game. If they aren’t at their best, it has a tangible impact on the Nuggets’ ability to be successful.
“I don’t think it’s a panic. It’s a wake up, re-energize and regroup,” Karl said, but added, “We need to recommit to some fundamentals.”
In the past four games, the Nuggets have averaged more turnovers (19.8) than their opponents, and well above their season average (15.9). They’ve had four consecutive games with fewer steals than their opponent and three consecutive games with fewer assists.
Defensively, opponents’ ability to score on the Nuggets has risen. Denver held foes to 97.6 points per game in November. That increased to 101.5 in December, 102.1 in January and has held at 102.0 this month.
From the 3-point line, the Nuggets have gone from hitting 43.4 percent in December to 34.5 percent in January and 33.3 percent this month. Opponents are getting to the free-throw line more in February (29.6 times) than in December and January (19.9 and 20.9).
It has added up to a 6-4 month. The Nuggets had designs on winning 40 games before losing 20, but Monday’s loss to the Celtics — Denver’s 20th — ended that goal.
“Our confidence is still high,” Anthony said. “Everybody’s heads are still high. We know what we have to do.”
Of more pressing concern is the ground Portland and Utah have gained in the Northwest Division. The Trail Blazers have moved to within 1 1/2 games of the Nuggets, while the resurgent Jazz, winner of five consecutive games, is three games back and currently in the eighth and final playoff spot.
“It’s a tough patch right now,” guard Chauncey Billups said. “It really is. We have been on the road for two and a half weeks. We come back and have to play right away on a back-to-back. It’s just tough, but you know that’s just the NBA.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Atlanta at Denver
7 p.m. tonight, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM
Spotlight on Mike Bibby: Lately, point guard Bibby has dealt with being sick, but overall this season he’s been revitalized in his first full season with the Hawks. Bibby was traded to Atlanta last season and struggled at times to fit in. But his 15.8 points, 5.1 assists and veteran leadership this season have helped the Hawks become one of the more dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference.
Hawks: This is the last game of in Atlanta’s six-game road trip, which has hit four Western Conference cities and has been rough so far. Atlanta has lost three of the past four, and is 2-3 on the trip overall. . . . The Hawks recalled guard Thomas Gardner and forward Othello Hunter from the D-League on Monday. . . . The Hawks last swept the Nuggets in the 2003-04 season.
Nuggets: In a weird twist of fate, Nene, out with a bone bruise in his right knee, will have missed both games against the Hawks this season. Of the two games he’s missed this season coming into tonight, one was the Dec. 29 meeting between the two teams, which he sat out because of a cervical strain. . . . The Nuggets took Tuesday off to rest after back-to-back games.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
