In one of the most anticipated seasons in quite some time, the first two games are officially in the books as the Denver Nuggets ended up with a 1-1 record at week’s end.
While the week only had two games, we’ve seen moments from the Nuggets that looked similar the previous season; when the Nuggets had the best offense in the NBA. The team looked strong and ran the court making it difficult for other teams to stop them, yet we’ve also seen those cringe-worthy moments where they gave up huge runs.
One of the biggest story lines this offseason was the acquisition of Paul Millsap and with that came many questions. Does this give Denver a better chance at the playoffs? Is he a good fit? Can he do enough individually to change the culture defensively? The biggest question of all; will he be able to coexist alongside Nikola Jokic?
While the 106-96 loss to Utah in the season opener was a coming out party for Millsap, it was also a homecoming as he was with the Jazz for seven years before making the move to the Atlanta Hawks. There were moments early in the game that Millsap looked like a true difference maker whose presence will impact this relatively young squad. There were also those preempted moments where we knew he’d have issues of cohesion with this unit alongside playmaker Nikola Jokic.
In the preseason, Coach Michael Malone experimented as much as he could with building chemistry between the two. Putting the ball in Millsap’s hands, something he’s been accustomed to for the past few years. Malone also put the ball in Jokic’ hands which allowed Millsap to play off-ball and even a mixture of both with isolations on both sides of the court with no set play.
In the opening night loss to the Jazz, Millsap looked like he was trying to build on that chemistry and find that rhythm alongside Jokic. A quick look at the stats didn’t show a bad game as he finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds, but to the eye it looked forced on many possessions. Millsap finished with a plus/minus of -6.
By the numbers Jokic also struggled in the plus/minus department finishing with -9 despite going for 7 points, 8 assists and 12 rebounds. Nearly a triple-double.
In the season home opening win against the Kings, things turned around for the dynamic duo, but Malone made a few changes. It appeared that Jokic and Millsap’s minutes were staggered with one or the other on the court at all times. Jokic wasn’t his usual self as far as scoring goes but played well. He didn’t score a single basket, but he did finish with 9 rebounds and 7 assists as well as recording a +21, the highest plus/minus of any player on the court. Millsap made an impact with his minutes and started to look like the player the Nuggets went and got, specifically on the defensive end of the floor. On offense, he’s starting to get more comfortable and it showed as he finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds.
It’s only been one week, but Millsap and Jokic look to be a solid one-two punch in the front-court. It’s going to take time to build chemistry between the two, but when they get it together, they’re going to be strong. Malone said it after the Kings win, it’s not the perfect week, but it is a week closer to where they want to be.
