Denver's Best Old Teams Passed and Defended. This One Only Passes So Far
The 1981-82 Nuggets showed that a passing offense can score at a record rate and still lose, and Friday's 127-120 win in Phoenix looked more like that team than the 54-win group of 1987-88.
Denver beat the Suns behind Jamal Murray's 39 points and Christian Braun's 31, but let a 13-point lead shrink to five in the final seconds. The franchise's history says the connections that matter most are the ones on defense.
What did Halloween 1981 teach?
On this date in 1981, the record-scoring Nuggets went to San Antonio, scored 120 and lost 145-120. That was the Moe offense at full volume. The ball moved and the points came, and the other team scored more. On Monday this group gave up 134 at home to the Warriors. Friday in Phoenix it scored 127 and still let a 1-3 Suns team cut a 13-point lead to five with nine seconds left.
Where the Phoenix win leaked
The starters scored 115 of the 127. Murray made 7 of 9 threes, Braun made 7 of 9, and Nikola Jokic had 10 assists. But Collin Gillespie came off the Phoenix bench for 16 points and 10 assists, and Dillon Brooks made 9 of 12 shots in 21 minutes. The Suns went on an 8-0 run that crossed from the third quarter into the fourth, then a 7-0 run inside the last two minutes. Aaron Gordon's bad pass with six seconds left gave Phoenix one more shot.
What made 1987-88 different?
Denver gave up Vandeweghe, a 25-point scorer, for three players. Then it won 54 games with Hanzlik and Dunn doing the guarding. The passing held up because more than five players could carry it. This roster can't make that kind of trade. The payroll is $219.1 million, above the first apron, and every first-round pick through 2030 is protected or owed to Oklahoma City. A report on October 24 said the Bucks turned down a potential Kevin Porter Jr. trade with Denver.
The defender may already be here
Trevon Brazile is the closest thing Denver has to a Hanzlik. He played the last five minutes in Phoenix alongside Murray, Braun, Jokic and Cameron Johnson, and he had a block and a steal in 19 minutes, though Denver was minus-7 with him in the game. Nugg Love's David Decker called him a defensive monster. Spencer Jones and Alpha Diallo are listed to return Monday against Portland, which gives David Adelman more players to try. The offense doesn't need help. The defense needs to connect the way the passing does.
When did the Nuggets average 126.5 points a game?
In 1981-82, under Doug Moe's motion offense, which set a league record. That same team lost 145-120 at San Antonio on October 31, 1981.
When do Spencer Jones and Alpha Diallo return for the Nuggets?
Both have an estimated return of November 2, when Denver hosts the Trail Blazers. Julian Strawther's estimated return is November 29.
