The Nuggets will not be confused with the 1985 Chicago Bears anytime soon.
That historic Super Bowl-winning team relied on its defense. Defense has not been a hallmark for Denver team that is in an advantageous position in the race for a postseason berth despite possessing an NBA-worst defensive rating of 110.7.
For much of this season, the Nuggets would settle for a cross-sport comparison to the middling defense of the 2016 Bears.
Since emerging from the all-star break, though, the Nuggets have shown incremental improvement at the defensive end. The Nuggets, who have won three of their last four games to take a 2½-game lead for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference entering Friday’s action, have a 107.4 rating since Feb. 23, which ranks 19th in the league.
The Nuggets aren’t completely putting clamps on their opponents. But as efficient as Denver has been on offense, even steady growth has gone a long way toward helping them win.
“It’s something we talked about coming out of the all-star break with 26 games to go,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. ” We said: ‘Our offense has been fantastic, but let’s challenge ourselves defensively.’ The guys have taken that seriously and have done a better job. Guys are committed. Guys are communicating. We’re kind of being more disciplined with guarding people and with the personnel. It can’t just be the first five games for us. It’s got to be every single night.”
The Nuggets are entering a vital and schedule friendly stretch in their pursuit of a playoff spot. They play their next four games at home, beginning with Saturday night’s matchup with the Hornets, and nine of their next 12 overall will be at home.
The home-heavy stretch offers the Nuggets a chance to move their heels a little further out of the reach of a logjam of teams behind them.
“In the big picture, sure, you have to protect your home court,” Malone said after emphasizing that the Nuggets’ singular focus first is on Charlotte. “If you want to win and be a playoff team, winning on the road is very important because the second half of our schedule is very road heavy. You always want to build a lead when you can and protect your home court, but we can’t get caught looking ahead.”
Increased pressure has helped the Nuggets boost performance on defense. Denver is last in the league in turnovers forced per game at 12.1 per game. That number has jumped to 14.8 in the five games since the All-Star break, which ranks 13th.
“We definitely are being a lot more aggressive on the defensive end,” guard said. “We’re just a lot more in sync with each other. We still need to be better, but we’re making strides in the right direction.”
Malone and his staff have altered the team’s defensive game plan slightly since the break, asking for more pressure on guards further from the basket. The Nuggets also have focused on attacking pick-and-roll plays more effectively.
“When you are aggressive in pick-and-rolls, it does open up other areas,” Malone said. “We need great weakside awareness to account for that.”
CHARLOTTE AT DENVER, 7 p.m., Saturday, ALT, 92.5 FM
Spotlight on Kemba Walker: The Nuggets desire to perform well against strong pick-and-roll playmakers will be put to the test against the 6-foot-1 Walker, who is averaging 23 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his last 10 games. Walker scores 0.94 points per play when he’s the ball-handler in pick-and-rolls, the most of any player who runs the play with greater than 50 percent frequency. “Kemba’s very quick, crafty and can finish,” Nuggets rookie guard said. “We’re going to have to do a good job locking down on him.”
Nuggets: will miss his fourth consecutive game with back spasms. There is no exact timetable for the forward’s return. “Hopefully we’ll get him back as soon as possible,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “He’s been getting treatments around the clock, trying to calm those spasms down. Obviously, once we can get him back out there we will, but we won’t rush him back. … Point guard , who missed Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee because of food poisoning, practiced Friday and is expected to return against the Hornets.
Hornets: Charlotte will be without center Frank Kaminsky, who sustained a sprained AC joint in his shoulder during Thursday’s loss to the Suns. The loss of Kaminsky, the second-year 7-footer, is a blow for Charlotte. He was averaging 17.9 points per game since Feb. 1, and he had scored at least 20 points in four of his previous seven games. … The Hornets have lost seven of their last nine games overall. … Saturday’s game will mark a reunion for Nuggets center Mason Plumlee with older brother Miles, who was traded to Charlotte from Milwaukee in early February and is currently sidelined with a calf injury.
