Fri Nov 9 Nuggets 118 WIZARDS 92
Mon Nov 12 NUGGETS 122 Cavaliers 100
Wed Nov 14 NUGGETS 110 Trailblazers 93
Sat Nov 17 NUGGETS 115 Knicks 83
Tue Nov 20 NUGGETS 112 Bulls 91
Fri Nov 30 NUGGETS 123 Clippers 107
Sun Dec 2 NUGGETS 115 Heat 89

And I didn’t say the Nuggets are the 2nd best defense, I just said they are alot better than most people think, and much better than last year. (Will the Lord strike me down for defending George Karl?)

The points per 100 possession stat is the best single stat I know of to judge how good a defense is. But the Nuggets are not really 2nd, because they have played one of the weakest schedules in the NBA so far. So their points per 100 possessions number will be going up in the weeks ahead as the schedule becomes much tougher.

The important thing will be what their number and rank is in April, heading into the playoffs.

Oh, and neither Melo nor A.I. are on the team for their defense. The Nugget’s players who lead the much improved Denver defense are Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin, Yakhouba Diawara, and Eduardo Najera.

They’re all wonderful tools, and they all have their place.

However, I don’t need to look at one statistic to know that AI takes a lot of chances when he plays defense. I don’t know have to see Melo’s +/- to know that he’s a lazy defender. I don’t need to look at the Nuggets defense per possession rating to know that they don’t rotate very well, that they have a hard time keeping good guards out of the paint, or that they’ve struggled defending some of the weakest teams in the league (Seattle, Minnesota, the Knicks, the Clips, etc.).

I just watch the games.

The Nuggets are an interesting team — they seem to play right at or just about the level of their opponents. It’s almost like they’re toying with the weak teams “just to keep it interesting”. When they’re consistently destroying the bad teams they play, I think they’ll will have officially graduated from “bad” defense to “average”. Then, they’ll need to develop better team defense, stop being lazy for quarters at a time, and focus on rotating and helping each other. Then they’ll be “good”.

But to say that the Nuggets have the 2nd best defense in the league is nothing short of ridiculous.

POINTS GIVEN UP PER 100 POSSESSIONS AS OF 12/12/07

1. Celtics 95.7
2. Nuggets 101.4
3. Magic 103.3
4. Hornets 103.7
5. Bulls 104.2
6. Hawks 104.6
7. 76′ers 104.6
8. Rockets 104.8
9. Spurs 104.9
10. Pistons 104.9

30. Knicks 113.2

I never thought I would see the day when George Karl is getting a bum rap, but he now is to some extent from those who think the Nuggets don’t try to defend, or don’t defend well, or both.

When the Nuggets lose to a good team, they break down offensively, but they still defend relatively well, and the total points scored is fewer than when the Nuggets win. The number 1 problem for the Nuggets right now is lack of consistency in general and set plays in particular on offense. This is most likely the reason for the extreme differences in scoring performances from players such as Marcus Camby, Linas Kleiza, and Eduardo Najera from game to game.

It’s AWFUL. Look at the miserable defense in a variety of games (home and on the road), and you’ll see a team that I like to call the “Wizards of the West” — great offense, poor defense.

They are not a championship team as of right now — maybe with an upgrade at point guard they’ll have a chance, but the way they’ve been playing it’s a stretch to imagine them getting past the 1st round.