Takeaways from Nuggets vs. 76ers

Dec 30, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) defends against Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

With the chance to move up to 8th place in the Western Conference on the line, the Denver Nuggets came up short, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers 124-122.

It is clear that the Nuggets have an Achilles heel in defending against three point shooters.

This was a close game from start to finish, as there would ultimately be 17 lead changes. Unfortunately for fans of Denver, hopes of taking that 8th place spot will have to be put on hold for the moment.

Philadelphia had a slight upper hand on the Nuggets when it came to controlling the tempo of the game. This gave the Sixers a 10 point lead at their peak, and the advantage going down the stretch.

For Denver, the pattern seemed to be giving up 5-8 point deficits, bouncing back, and falling behind again. This continued throughout most of the game, until Denver closed a 10 point 4th quarter deficit to tie the score at 117-117 with 49 seconds left in the game.

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Then, with 8th place in sight, they fell apart, falling behind once again, and eventually resorting to intentionally fouling.

Dec 30, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) defends Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) in the first quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

This game was ultimately decided in just a few seconds, which simply did not pan out for the Nuggets.

Denver had the game tied up at 99-99 midway through the 4th quarter, but then fell victim to a 10 point swing. After fighting their way back from that they evened the score with less than a minute left. After Joel Embiid made 1-2 free throws, the Nuggets were down 1 point, with possession, and saw a chance to take the lead.

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Danilo Gallinari drove to the basket and set up Nikola Jokic with a decent look at the basket, but Nikola’s millisecond of being wide-open quickly vanished, as his shot was engulfed and blocked by Joel Embiid. From that point on, Philadelphia had the upper hand, and secured the win with free-throws.

The intentional fouling did not quite work out for the Nuggets, who failed to put together effective in-bounds plays. On top of that, there were some missed free-throws, which were likely intentionally missed. Had these shots gone in, the Nuggets might have claimed 8th place yet. But they didn’t, and this one went down as another disappointing loss.

With the recent momentum rolling through Denver, seeing the Nuggets play from behind repeatedly to the struggling 76ers was a bit surprising. Even though it all came down to a couple of big plays, there were only a couple of elements to Philadelphia’s performance that kept the Nuggets from ever taking control of the game.

Dec 30, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reacts after a play in the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Pepsi Center. The 76ers won 124-122. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Denver’s ultimate downfall was their defense, once again.

Philly’s offensive rebounding was super-charged. As a team, they finished with 15 offensive boards, compared to Denver’s 10, which made good defensive sequences go to waste, and often led to points for Philly. Securing defensive boards the necessary period at the end of a defensive sequence’s sentence. But, usually Denver comes out of top of this battle, so its somewhat safe to call this an uncharacteristic fluke for the Nuggets. All to familiar however, was Denver’s inability to stop three-point shooters.

As a unit, Philly made 16 out of 33 three point attempts, led by Ersan Ilyasova and T.J. McConnell, who went a combined 8-9 from downtown. This sort of hot handed shooting is rare for Philly, but if a team ever has a chance to light it up from downtown, Denver is apparently the team to do it against.

It is clear that the Nuggets have an Achilles heel in defending against three-pointers. Team after team seems to tear Denver apart from deep. Fans know that three point shooters have a chance to score season highs when they face off against Denver, and this needs to change. As the Nuggets fall deeper into their reputation of being easy to score against, they can prepare for dive in their western conference rankings.

Fixing this issue should be a primary concern moving forward, especially with how heavily top-ranking western conference teams use the three-ball.

If Denver is to take that 8th place spot, or better, they will need to tighten up their perimeter defense.