Ten games into the NBA season we have seen some highs from the Denver Nuggets, but, we’ve also seen some lows. The good thing is it’s still early and they are now sitting at 5-5. Off to a better start than the beginning of their 2016-17 campaign that ultimately ended up eliminating them from the playoffs. Through 10 games there’s been a difference; it appears to be a buy-in on defense and Michael Malone has found rotations he’s liked early and set late game changes and most importantly the Nuggets have a closer (we think).
After going out East for a 4-game road trip, they’ve come back to the Mile High City and are in the midst of a six game home-stand. Let’s take a look at some of the things we’ve seen so far and what’s to come for the next week or so.
The Good–Paul Millsap has been worth the money
The highlight of the Denver Nuggets off-season came when they made a $90 million splash in free agency when they picked up Paul Millsap. Many questioned if the Nuggets had made the right choice and if acquiring the power forward for that type of money would make any sort of meaningful difference. Additionally, they asked, how would he look alongside budding superstar Nikola Jokic?
Well 10 games into the season, they’ve appeared to have found their man in Millsap. He’s averaging 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds on the season which is down from last year’s averages of 17.1 and 7.7, while he was with the Hawks . Aside from the early growing pains, it appears as if the former Hawks player and Jokic are starting to pick up some traction. Jokic has kept up his usual numbers (16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds last year – 15.6 points, 11.5 rebounds this year) but, a big difference has been Denver’s willingness to work on the defensive end due to Millsap’s presence. While the numbers haven’t yielded the results that Denver has wanted early, there’s no denying the fact that Millsap gives them a new and improved dynamic on the defensive end that the Nuggets haven’t had in quite a while.
Jokic’s overall dominance will emerge as he gets more comfortable in the new offensive system alongside Millsap’s production on the defensive end. It has been entertaining to watch and is proving to be contagious at times, now they just have to put it together; and keep it.
The Bad–Finding a closer at point guard
When a team uses two lottery picks in three years on a point guard, one would assume that that team has that position figured out for the foreseeable future. Denver has two very talented guards but this past week in a 95-94 win over the Miami Heat, Malone unexpectedly decided to not go with either point guard. Instead he went with swing man Will Barton to close out the game. “We closed the game with Will Barton playing as our point guard,” Malone said following the win. “These are the games we would’ve lost last year, point blank.”
In light of the Nuggets’ decision to let go of Jameer Nelson, it was safe to say that the point guard of the future is Jamal Murray and despite Head Coach Michael Malone’s decision to go with Will Barton to close out the Miami game, he’s still confident in his point guard.
“Obviously, I’m hoping that Jamal can be the guy,” Malone said before they took on Golden State Warriors.
Murray’s still learning. He’s still learning the ropes in his sophomore season and he’s being moved to a position that he doesn’t have much experience with in an offense that’s non-traditional, free flowing and centered around two dynamic big men so it’s understandable as to why there’s struggles early. Only time will tell if Murray can become that guy the Coach Malone and the organization want him to be and you know what they say:
Experience is the best teacher.
The Ugly–defense; of course
https://twitter.com/hpbasketball/status/927199769671303168
Well this is self-explanatory isn’t it?