In sports, we tend to gloss over the preseason, and rightfully so. The games don’t count, coaches aren’t game planning and star players tend to treat it exactly like it is, a warmup.
Still, there’s a lot you can draw from preseason play, especially in the NBA, as starters actually play 15-25 minutes a game.
On Thursday, the Nuggets closed out their preseason schedule with 98-78 loss to the Utah Jazz, capping off a 4-3 record. They’ll begin their regular season next Wednesday in Houston against James Harden, Ty Lawson and the Houston Rockets.
But before we completely leave the preseason behind in the dust, let’s take a look back and see who have been the Denver Nuggets’ three biggest standouts from preseason:
Honorable Mention: Emmanuel Mudiay
Emmanuel Mudiay has been exactly as advertised this preseason
Obviously, Mudiay is the easy answer. He led the Nuggets in scoring, assists and … turnovers. But that’s all to be expected. In fact, Mudiay was exactly as advertised this preseason, and that’s why he’s not higher on this list.
If there is anything you should take special notice of, though, it’s Mudiay’s 37.5 percent shooting from behind the three-point arc. That probably wasn’t expected.
Honestly, if Mudiay can just be respectable from three, shooting something around 30 percent, that would be huge. Mudiay was pegged by many as a non-shooter, a Rajon Rondo-like point guard. Through Summer League and the preseason, that’s clearly not the case.
His shot isn’t broken; it’s a work in progress.
3. Joffrey Lauvergne
Joffrey Lauvergne gives the Nuggets an added dimension
Lauvergne wasn’t anything special after joining the Nuggets midway through last season, but he wasn’t without promise, either.
This offseason, it’s been that promise that has shined through the most. The 6-foot-11 frenchman has shown his versatility all preseason, scoring 13.3 points a game and leading the Nuggets in rebounds (8.8).
But what Lauvergne can potentially offer at the power forward position is spacing, something Denver has been lacking at that spot since the days of Al Harrington.
It didn’t look it last year, when he shot under 20 percent from three, but Lauvergne is capable of hitting from deep. We’ll see if he can actually gain enough of Michael Malone’s trust to be given the green light, but even if it’s simply the ability to pick-and-pop at 16 feet, that’s a positive for the Nuggets.
2. Gary Harris
Gary Harris looks to have a bounce-back year
I talked about Gary Harris a lot yesterday, but here’s the thing Nuggets fans need to know: there’s still a lot we haven’t seen from this guy.
Harris really couldn’t have had a much worse rookie season than he did last year, but neither could the Nuggets; it was bad, all around. He deserves a pass, and based off of what we’ve seen this offseason, he’s earning it, too.
The defensive ability he was praised for coming out of college is finally starting to come together, and, more importantly, his shot’s falling.
In six games this preseason, Harris shot 44.8 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 90 percent from the line. If he can keep that up in the regular season, he’ll lock down that two-guard spot from day one.
This story presented in part by…
[adrotate banner=”6″]1. Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic is is quickly making a name for himself
Coming out of last season, Jusuf Nurkic clearly had the Nuggets’ center position locked down for the foreseeable future. Now, I’m not so sure.
And it’s not that Nurkic isn’t capable of being a franchise center; he just has some competition.
Nikola Jokic, a 6-10 rookie out of Serbia, is quickly proving that Tim Connelly has a knack for picking Eastern European big men, and it’s creating an interesting situation in Denver.
Jokic led the NBA in field goal percentage (73.3) this preseason, and was even able to stretch the floor a bit with his jump shot. At 20 years old, he’s already a solid NBA big man, and he’s going to get his shot to prove himself early on in the season.
While Nurkic is out, Jokic will be able to snag some solid minutes at center for the Nuggets, and if he continues to play this well, Malone is going to have a tough time figuring out his big man rotation once the Bosnian Bear returns.
However it works out, though, it’s only good news for the Nuggets.