Nuggets on the precipice
What they should try next
BY DAVID THORPE
If you stopped watching Game 2 of the Nuggets-Wolves conference semifinal matchup at the halftime buzzer, I understand.
At one point, Reggie Miller commented it seemed like there were seven Wolves playing defense. That’s a fair analysis. The Wolves gave the Nuggets no openings, and by the end of the first half, had reduced the reigning champs to a middle-school AAU team.
Think of the Nuggets’ offense as a jet with two propellers: Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray. Right now, as one engine is sputtering the other must fend off a tornadic onslaught of defenders.
Murray, clearly limited by his lingering calf injury, lacked his typical explosiveness and lift. That left Jokić with too much work, as the creator of all of the Nuggets’ scoring opportunities. It resulted in his looking rattled for the first time that I remember. Neither Murray nor Jokić looked confident in …
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