Nuggets critical moment offensive problem: Screening leads to an imbalance of offensive focus

Following the opening game, the Nuggets' offense against the Trail Blazers once again experienced a brief stagnation at critical moments. However, unlike the Warriors' defensive method, the Trail Blazers' multi-forward lineup at critical moments relies more on intensity and pressure, while the Warriors' defensive model is more disciplined and tests decision-making:

Curry and Kuminga switched defenses in advance to avoid Jokic's dislocation advantage

The Trail Blazers switched defenses directly when the Nuggets' top line screen was initiated. They did not suffer any obvious disadvantage when taking over Jokic's matchup, and the help defenders behind them had both size and mobility. Although the two modes operate differently, the core is to test the Nuggets' offensive focus.

In these two games, the Nuggets have always used a screen at the top of the arc in CT, and the Trail Blazers and Warriors have restricted Jokic in different ways, so this means that the person who ultimately decides the direction of the Nuggets' offense will not be Jokic.

The traditional three-person collaboration initiated by Elbow+Rip+slip is actually what the Nuggets are best at.

But the Trail Blazers are very good at applying full-court pressure and creating turnovers. Their turnover rate is still the first in the league. Gordon made direct dribbling errors twice in the final quarter.

This time the Nuggets used their customary Ram screen, and then Jokic and Murray played a two-man switch at the top of the key. However, the Trail Blazers always restricted Jokic's receiving route. Murray's forced lob would be interfered by Avdija, who was assisting in defense, causing a mistake.

This inevitably leads to the fact that in many rounds, Murray needs to eventually confront the defense in a 1-on-1 format, while Jokic is always restricted by the semi-circle.

It is undeniable that Murray is in excellent form this season, but this forced shift in offensive focus has caused stability and upper limit to all depend on Murray.

And Jokic’s scores in the last few minutes all came from opportunities that barely appeared under pressure from the opponent.

This offense is also a one-on-one solution for Gordon.

When the game truly entered the decisive stage, the Trail Blazers chose a more aggressive approach to force Murray to play the ball and at the same time pressured Jokic to pass the ball to Braun. This was also the most acceptable ending point for the Blazers. Jokic was restricted from receiving the ball by Kamara for the first time, and was forced to play the ball directly the second time.

Generally speaking, the Nuggets' offense still has a long way to go. First, it must achieve a balance between the initiation at the top of the arc and Jokic's back design, and it needs to "use the best player to finish" as he said at the end of the last game.