On a night that the Denver Nuggets honored their legends, the current Nuggets put on a legendary performance. Well – if you’re a fan of mid-1990’s basketball that is (for the record, I am, but lets not go into that at the moment)
On a night with star Nikola Jokic picking up fouls at a fast rate in the first half and looking disconnected on the scoring end (Jokic finished with 0 points on 0-3 shooting), the Nuggets thrived with a lineup that featured Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay. The Nuggets defeated the Kings 96-79, winning for the first time scoring under 100 points in a very long time.
Kenneth Faried had made his displeasure known about coming off the bench in favor of the recently high dollar signee Paul Millsap. In the second game of this young NBA season, the Manimal made a reappearance and was arguably the best player on the floor tonight. Faried started as soon as the second quarter began, leading a big run with dunks and chase down blocks. He finished a game with an impressive 18 points and 8 rebounds and a needed lift of energy after a lethargic first quarter from the Nuggets.
Sometimes low-scoring, defensive battles can be confused for poor offense. While the Nuggets did shoot a collective 43.5%, it was their impact on the defensive end that stood out. Holding the Kings to 36.5% shooting and a paltry 79 points. This made the old defensive coach Michael Malone smile after the game. A complete defensive performance.
Paul Millsap tied Kenneth Faried as high scorer for the Nuggets with 18 points. This seemed to be a better game for the veteran power forward as his own comfort was noticeable, manifesting itself in better shot selection and greater aggression on the boards.
Emmanuel Mudiay bounced back from a bad first game of the season and made his largest contribution in a long while for the Nuggets. His statline of 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists didn’t do justice to how good he was coming off the bench. In particular his chemistry with Faried.
The Nuggets big Serbian center, Jokic, only shot the ball three times and missed all of them. While he did dish out 7 assists and pull down 9 rebounds (for a team-high +21) it was obvious that Jokic didn’t quite put his stamp on the game. Jokic was passing up wide open shots often times just to move the ball along. This can be presumably chalked up to his unselfishness, but in order for the Nuggets to take the next step they need Jokic as assertive as he was at the end of the last season.
The Nuggets go to 1-1 on the season. Their next opponent is the Washington Wizards on Monday night.
