Excuse the played out adage, but the Denver Nuggets got ran through like water last night.

What on Earth can explain how the Nuggets allow a depleted Utah Jazz team to not only beat them, but to have a 13-point lead at one point?

One word: defense.

It’s just a shame that the Nuggets continue to play this way. Because when you look on the floor, you see a lot of players that are capable of playing tremendous defense.

J.R. Smith, as crazy as he is, is quick enough to stay in front of a lot of perimeter players, and you see him do just that from time to time.

Carmelo Anthony shows some defensive prowess every now and then, but has certainly made his fair share of defensive blunders.

We know Chris Anderson and Nene Hilario have tremendous post-defense ability.

And Chauncey Billups, although he has no chance against Deron Williams, has the ability to play stifling defense for a stretch or two at times.

But collectively, when you these guys need to play team defense against a very active Utah offense, the Nuggets defense by committee approach doesn’t work. The end result last night was a 10 for 16 shooting night from Boozer, a 5 for 7 night for Kyle Korver, and milestone 33 and 14 "blowuptuation" from Deron Williams.

Mind you, two of Utah’s starters weren’t even playing last night, and who knows how healthy Boozer, or even Deron after that flagrant foul, really is.

And quite frankly, I don’t see any answers for the Nuggets. Usually, they can get by with Chris Anderson and Kenyon Martin anchoring the paint and Chauncey Billups controlling the opposing point guard. But since Billups can stay in front of Williams to save his life, and because the Martin and Anderson are having trouble with Boozer, the individual nature of the Nuggets defense is a detriment to this team’s success.

The Nuggets only real hope is that their wing players start contributing more to the overall team defense. J.R. Smith cannot let Kyle Kover make shots. Carmelo Anthony cannot let CJ Miles shoot 50% from the field. And both of those guys need to help out more when Billups and Martin are forced to guard the pick-n-roll against Boozer and Williams.

But to be honest; that’s not going to happen. The Nuggets are what they are. They finished the season as a mediocre team (16th) in terms of defensive efficiency, and they are all but proving to be mediocre during the playoffs. The fact that a team missing two starting, high-caliber, former All-Star players can score an average of 112 points per game against the Nuggets is ludicrous. And if, I mean when, the Nuggets make me look like a fool for predicting that they would advance past the depleted Utah Jazz, their downfall will be blatantly definitive, with a capital "D." ~ TheSportsWatcher