The Denver Nuggets were happy to see forward Kenneth Faried return to action a few games ago after dealing with back pain, which forced him to miss nine contests.
In Wednesday’s victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Faried, also known as “Manimal”, was a driving force in upping the teams play which lead the Nuggets to a dominate 126-113 victory.
“His ability to be properly space and finish around the basket, his mood.” Nuggets coach Michael Malone explained. “Kenneth Faried was phenomenal.”
Faried possesses one thing that makes him almost invaluable at this point in the season: energy. Faried is notorious for his energy in all aspects of the game. His ferocious speed, mixed with keen athleticism, make him one of the more electrifying players in the league.
Faried’s ability to amp up the players around him will prove to be valuable for the Nuggets, who have been forced to deal with injuries and inconsistency in rotations over the past several weeks.
“All that matters to me is that when you go in the game, you go out there and play as hard as you can. I never have to worry about that with Kenneth.” Malone told the media after the victory. “His athleticism, energy, motor, finishing, defense, rebounding are always what set him apart from other power forwards in the NBA.”
Part of what helps fuel Faried are the mobs of fans, and in Wednesday’s win, the nearly sold-out Pepsi Center crowd was animated which helped him to a near double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds.
“When we have crowds like that they electrify just as much as we [do].” Faried said after the game. “It kind of gives us that edge over the opposing team.”
Faried has long been an advocate for better home crowds at Pepsi Center. After the game, Faried said that crowd at the game Wednesday reminded him of what games were like when he first got drafted by the Nuggets, back when the team was consistently making the playoffs.
“I loved that,” Faried said with a smile. “I love when the crowds at every game. Just excited, happy to watch us play Nuggets basketball. That’s what I miss, and to have that tonight, and us to get the win in going away fashion, that’s fun, and I hope we have that for the rest of the season because we are trying to make a playoff push, and make a name for ourselves again.”
If tonight was a preview of what’s to come, the Nuggets can expect to be amped before, during, and after every game for the rest of the season as they try to snap the franchise’s three-year playoff drought.
With 11 games to go and a handful of obstacles standing between them and the postseason, the Nuggets will need Faried’s energy to help elevate and intensify their play as the season narrows.
