Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman criticized his team’s lack of physicality and defensive execution after the Golden State Warriors handed Denver a 134-114 defeat on Monday night.
The Nuggets allowed 74 second-half points as the Warriors shot 22-of-44 from three-point range and outrebounded Denver 45-32. Adelman said the defensive breakdowns were less about the shots Golden State made and more about how Denver allowed those opportunities to develop.
“Tonight was very different,” Adelman said. “The coverage wasn’t good enough. We talked in the locker room after the game just about the physicality. I don’t think we took a foul.”
Adelman pointed to Denver’s switching defense, explaining that failing to make contact with opponents created opportunities for Golden State to exploit defensive rotations.
“If you’re going to switch one through four, like pretty much every team in our league does, the physicality part of it is huge,” he said. “If you let guys run untouched, it leads to breakdowns and it leads to people having to be the low man for no reason.”
The coach added that the Warriors generated open three-pointers by forcing Denver into defensive mistakes rather than consistently scoring at the rim.
“They only had 42 points in the paint,” Adelman said. “It was kick-out threes off mistakes.”
He was particularly critical of the team’s failure to respond with enough aggression, regardless of experience level.
“I don’t care if our guys are rookies or whatever it is or played in the league for 15 years. You have to put your hands on people if you want to have a chance. We didn’t do that,” Adelman said.
Despite the loss, Adelman praised DeMar DeRozan, who scored 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting and helped Denver remain competitive early.
“DeMar offensively was great,” Adelman said. “He got to his spots. He kept us in the game, I thought, in the first half when things started to slip.”
Adelman also defended Nikola Jokic’s rebounding, saying Denver’s other players needed to do more as opponents sent multiple players toward the basket. Golden State finished with 23 second-chance points.
“He can’t block out four people,” Adelman said of Jokic. “He’s unbelievable. Defensive rebounder, one of the best ever I’ve ever seen. But that’s a teamwide thing.”
Jokic finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists, while Jamal Murray also recorded 19 points and eight assists. Adelman said he had no mechanical concerns about Jokic’s early-season three-point shooting but emphasized that the big man needed to take open shots when defenses packed the paint.
Denver fell to 1-2 and will visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
