DeAndre Jordan had proven to be a solid signing for the Denver Nuggets leading up to Friday night. He was rebounding well, playing solid defense, excelled in drop coverage and was regularly open for lobs.
But that all changed during a 131-112 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Not only did Jordan score just two points and not log a rebound in the loss, but his effort seemed to evaporate. That was highlighted by a 20-second span in the second quarter.
Jordan mistimed his jump on the first rebound opportunity, giving the Celtics a second chance. He then may no effort to defend Derrick White as he drove to the hoop, and didn’t even bother to go up after that miss. When Jordan did finally have the chance to pull one down following a Sam Hauser brick, he had his pocket picked by Payton Pritchard.
The embarrassing display was capped with a Pritchard layup as Jordan just stood around and watched.
“For the most part, the offense wasn’t really the problem. It was definitely the defense,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said after the game. “When we win games, we defend. When we lose games, we don’t defend anybody. Tonight was one of those games.”
That is not the kind of effort the Nuggets want to see out of Jordan, who played just over nine minutes. They’re going to need a lot more out of the 34-year-old going forward or be willing to limit his minutes further.
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