Malone: Nuggets need to be better in transition, limit turnovers in final 12 games of the season
Mar 20, 2025, 9:23 AM
Wednesday night was one to forget for Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets, as the team got jumped by the Los Angeles Lakers and was never able to close the gap en route to a 120-108 loss.
After the game, Malone emphasized the importance of limiting turnovers and being better in transition for the Nuggets heading into the final 12 games of the season. Through 70 games, the team is in the bottom half of the league in terms of transition defense and turnovers, a recipe that will result in an early playoff exit instead of a second NBA Championship.
“The things that jump off the stat page every night for me are our inability to take care of the ball, I think we’ve been a team that’s struggled in transition this year, and a lot of times that starts with our offense,” Malone said postgame Wednesday. “Turnovers and the live-ball turnovers.”
In Wednesday’s loss, the Nuggets forced 14 turnovers by the Lakers (resulting in 18 points) but turned the ball over 19 times of their own (resulting in 30 points). Losing the game by 12 points while losing the points off turnovers battle by 12 points — the math is simple.
“That’s been a somewhat consistent theme with our team,” Malone said. “Not taking care of [the ball], which leads to poor transition.”
Malone then shifted the focus to the team’s 3-point and overall defense, which is a surprise to nobody who has watched the 2024-25 Denver Nuggets. While the offensive production has been fine for the most part from Denver when the team is healthy, the defense has left many people scratching their head.
The Nuggets rank 20th in defensive rating (tied with the 24-45 Toronto Raptors), 20th in opponent points off turnovers, 18th in opponent second chance points, 25th in opponent fast break points and 23rd in opponent points in the paint. None of those stats correlate to a team that is going to win a championship.
Since Jan. 1, the Nuggets have lost 13 games. There were only two instances in which the opposing team scored less than 115 points. In nine of those games, the opposing team scored at least 120 points. Again, not a recipe for success.
Take a look at last year’s playoffs, where the Nuggets proved in both rounds that defense wins championships. In the first round, they held the Lakers to just 106.4 points per game. In the second round, they scored 97.6 points per game and lost.
While there is time to adjust the issues that Malone talked about postgame, there isn’t a whole lot of it. This team is very inconsistent, and as it currently stands, is not in a true position to compete with the top dogs in the NBA playing this level of defense. With the Blazers on the schedule tomorrow, it will be one of the final few chances for Denver to work on its defense versus a non-playoff team down the stretch.
