Denver Nuggets center and reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic is loving life with new teammate Russell Westbrook, who the team signed in free agency this offseason. Jokic was asked by media about the Nuggets improving defensively, specifically on transition defense, which led to Jokic heaping praise on how adding Westbrook has already done that.
“I think we are lucky that we have Russ on our team – He’s the guy that’s been doing that for a decade or two. He’s doing that at a really high level. He can help us a lot in that category (transition defense). Defense is something we’re getting more and more from regular practice.”
Westbrook is not known as an ace defender but has made marked improvements on that end in the last two seasons. He was a solid guard defender for the Los Angeles Clippers last season, showing improvements as a perimeter defender as his offensive workload has reduced in recent years. Everyone knows Westbrook plays with a lot of energy, and he’s using a lot of that on defense in a way we haven’t seen before.
So far through Nuggets preseason, Westbrook has shown his commitment to defense by flying across the court, especially to disrupt fast-break offense by covering a man or cutting off passing lanes.
With Aaron Gordon making these defensive recoveries alongside him, the Nuggets aren’t being punished in the open court as much as they have in recent seasons.
Westbrook averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.1 steals last season.
The Nuggets Should Be Concerned About Preseason
The Nuggets have a 0-3 record in preseason so far, being unable to convert their performance into wins. Their loss tonight to the Phoenix Suns was particularly embarrassing, as the Suns were without six of their top players while the Nuggets played an NBA rotation for three-quarters of the game.
Jokic put up 21 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists in that time, showing he’s still the best big man in the NBA. Westbrook had nine points and six assists, struggling to score but impacting the game defensively and as a playmaker in view of Jamal Murray’s struggles, shooting 1-6 for two points.
I had spoken to Nuggets coach Michael Malone during their preseason trip to Abu Dhabi for two games against the Boston Celtics where the coach told Fadeaway World that he doesn’t value preseason results as much as preseason effort from his players.
“I don’t get caught up in the losses in preseason. I get caught up in, ‘Are we getting better?’ That’s the most disappointing thing about tonight. It wasn’t about the missed shots, it was about the turnovers and transition defense breakdowns that we had.”
That effort has been missing in the Nuggets, who are playing extremely sloppy and turnover-prone ball. The Suns aggressive perimeter defense made them pay for their wayward passing tonight as Denver still looks to be in preseason mode in terms of their effort.
This could be a strategy to conserve players before the start of the season, but it’s a trend that keeps carrying over to all their games and could be difficult to snap just because the season has started.
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