Nuggets Coach Weighs In on Team’s Defensive Ups and Downs

The Denver Nuggets, just under two months into the NBA regular season, have been a standout team on the offensive end. They rank number one in the league for points-per-game, rank atop the league in offensive rating, and behind the prowess of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, are scoring at an elite rate on any given night.

The defensive side of the ball, though, has been a different story.

Without two key pieces on that end of the floor in Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon for the past month, Denver went from what started as one of the better defenses in the NBA to now having an average one, ranked 18th in the league in terms of defensive rating, and have wound up losing a few games because of it.

Of course, without two pivotal players defensively, the operation without them won't be a seamless transition. So for Nuggets assistant coach Jared Dudley, the main focus has been holding down the fort, but also helping prepare themselves for the playoffs down the line.

"It's been up and down," Dudley said of the Nuggets' defense, via Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. "Sometimes we've had to outscore them. But it's been key stops. We've tried to use multiple defensive zones. Cross-matching. How to double the post, how to double the free-throw line, to try to help us prepare once we get to the playoffs."

"So once CB and AG come back to go with Spencer and P-Wat, our depth and our length is going to cause a lot of problems. Right now we're just trying to hold down the fort and win games by any means necessary.”

David Adelman was out today for family reasons, I'm told (everyone is OK), which means we got to hear from lead assistant Jared Dudley after the Nuggets practiced at Ball Arena. Here's a snippet of what he had to say about the state of the defense: pic.twitter.com/6D6iJyt5PU
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) December 17, 2025

Nuggets "Holding Down the Fort" Defensively

In the wake of the Nuggets' injuries on the wing, it has led to some bright spots by seeing a bit of a larger sample size from Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones––two lengthy and versatile wings who have stepped up big on the defensive side of the ball, being the plug preventing Denver from sinking even lower in defensive metrics.

Dec 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) passes around Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson (8) and forward Spencer Jones (21) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

That experience for those two rotational pieces should be more valuable by giving them some added confidence and reps before the postseason gets underway that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. But in the meantime, there's certainly some holes, and a lack of depth without two typical starters that's stopped the Nuggets from being anywhere but average on the defensive side of the ball.

Once the Nuggets are back to full health with all of their two-way talent on the wing, this team will be a tough one to hold down, especially once the postseason nears.

But until that comes around, Dudley, David Adelman, and the rest of the Denver staff will be tasked with solving the puzzle of keeping this team afloat on both sides of the ball, and thus, afloat in the gauntlet that is the top of the Western Conference.

Nuggets "Holding Down the Fort" Defensively

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