National Basketball Association

Denver Nuggets: A Rough Defeat by Detroit Sends the Nuggets to 2-3

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Denver Nuggets looked extremely sluggish on Saturday night and were defeated by a talented Detroit team to move their record to 2-3 on the season.

The Denver Nuggets were beaten badly on Saturday night in Detroit by a final score of 86-103. It was a rough game from the start, as the Pistons got off to a 20-4 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Although the Nuggets trimmed the lead to 5 in the third quarter, they struggled to get defensive stops and were unable to make shots consistently.

With the win, the Pistons improved their record to 4-2 and figure to be playoff bound with a solid, young core. Andre Drummond led the way for Detroit, finishing with 19 points and 20 rebounds. Drummond consistently got inside position and dominated the interior of the Nugget’s defense.

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The pistons also showed great ball movement tonight which allowed them to get great looks all over the floor. As a team, they finished with 22 assists and completely controlled the pace of the game.

On the other hand, the Nuggets were unprepared and were not ready to play basketball tonight. They looked sluggish on both sides of the floor and were never able to establish any sort of momentum. The shooting was abysmal, as they shot a rough 33% from the field. The backcourt shot a combined 6/32, which is not going to cut it no matter how well the rest of the team plays. Denver continues to struggle with ball control, as they have the most turnovers in the NBA and finished with another 16 in yet another sloppy game. This has been a big issue and needs to be solved. Wilson Chandler was the lone bright spot tonight, finishing with 21 points and 9 rebounds on 9/18 shooting.

The Nuggets were thoroughly dominated tonight and their issues were exposed even more. If Denver wants any chance at making the playoffs this year, they are going to have to fix their shooting, limit their turnovers, and Michael Malone is needs to find a rotation that works. Hopefully, the Nuggets come ready to play tomorrow night in Boston.

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