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If their favorite food is chicken why’d they get devoured by nuggets
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Oct 11, 2023 00:47
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 13:37 |
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Your defending champion DENVER NUGGETS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK4T2KqROPM All it takes to go from underdogs to favorites (at least to come out of the West) is actually winning the championship, it seems. So do they have what it takes to repeat? Notable losses from 2022-23 Bruce Brown (PG/SG/SF/PF): 6th man swiss army knife, he wasn't just a bench player. Rather, he was the 6th starter, the guy who plugged in to the starting lineup whenever someone had to rest, and he played a lot of minutes next to Jokic. Neither his basic stats (11.5/4.1/3.4) nor his advanced (below-average PER, win shares/48, decent efficiency but below-average usage rate) speak to how he could do basically anything the Nuggets needed him to do. The question, then: how can the Nuggets replace what Bruce brought, both as a guy who could fill holes in the starting lineup and be the most useful player off the bench? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlxVS8pac2g Jeff Green (PF/C): while the questions about how losing Bruce will affect the team are valid, the same isn't true for Jeff. Despite some age-defying dunks, Jeff was simply past his time as an NBA player, and should never have won his rotation spot last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be-mh7V3qIA Vlatko Čančar (SF/PF): still on the team, but out for the season with an ACL tear. Get will soon, Vlatko. Even though he (unjustly) lost his rotation spot last year, he's one of the best halfcourt shot guys in the league. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi7UBf9c96Q The starters! The starting five returns in its entirety from last year, when it was the most dominant in the sport. Nikola Jokić (Nikola Jokić): after winning two MVPs, it wasn't until after he lost what would have been his third MVP that people will off-handedly refer to him as the best player in basketball. All those obnoxious betting sites have him as the favorite to win MVP this year, as well. The biggest question for him this season is: will he continue to prioritize scoring, or play facilitator to a fault, as he did at the beginning of last year? He seems to have accepted that no one can stop his scoring 1-on-1, which fits with... Jamal Murray (PG/SG): we've known since the bubble that Jamal can put up 50-point games when he needs to, but his passing and court vision took huge strides this last year. No longer just a Kobe-style scorer who wants to pull up into contested jumpers all the time (though he still will do that), he got his first ever triple-double this past regular season, with his second coming in the finals, where he averaged ten assists a game. He had an understandably slow start in the 2022-23 season as he recovered from his injury, but he truly is better than ever now. It would be surprising if Jamal doesn't make his first ever all-star team this year. Aaron Gordon (PF/C (playoffs only)): 181 dunks in the regular season, or 2.66 per game. It's safe to say that AG fits into Denver's system perfectly: he's a great defender on big, strong guys, and KCP on the roster means he doesn't have to chase Trae Young around any more. On offense, instead of Jamal Murray's return meaning an even more reduced role for AG, his usage went up, and he scored more per game than all but one of his years in Orlando. Plays like this, designed to get passes from Jokic to AG, are a big reason why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVGI1X6tBfQ That said, he has his weaknesses. His shooting is still below-average, so opponents can leave him open at the three-point line, and his foul shooting is bad enough that hack-a-Gordon would yield fewer points per possession than letting the Nuggets starting unit play normally. Michael Porter Jr. (SF): despite the GM publicly calling him a "me guy," he fits in well with Denver's system as well. Shooting 41.4% from three overall and an absurd 51.8% from the corners, his existence on the court means there's a guy you cannot leave even to stop a layup. He's battled injuries his whole career, but played more games (by one) in the 2023 season than he ever has before. That Monstars stole his talent in the playoffs and the team still won it all shows the depth of their offense. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG): if you could create a 2-guard role player in a lab, you'd end up with KCP. Aside from being a phenomenal shooter (with some mostly-vestigial creation abilities), his defense is fantastic, specifically his screen navigation. I've never seen anyone draw as many illegal screen offensive fouls as him (but I haven't watched much Caruso, I admit). The bench! If the Nuggets underachieve this year, it'll have something to do with the bench. The front office seems to have intentionally gotten rid of reliable veteran guys that Malone can play instead of the youngsters the front office wants to see, and bench lineups are going to be heavily dependent on rookie and sophomore players. Christian Braun (SG/SF/it's pronounced "brown"): as a rookie, he outperformed what was expected, serving as a useful role player even in the finals. That was playing 15.5 MPG in the regular season, and 13 in the playoffs, though, but without Bruce ahead of him, it's going to mean a huge increase in role for Christian. He came into the league an athletic terror on defense: big, strong, fast enough to stay with guards and long enough to swallow their shots. Can he improve above 35% from three? Were his on-ball skills real, or just one-off plays? Expect him to play about 25mpg, because the Nuggets have essentially no other options. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcZ1B4QjhE0 Justin Holiday (SG/SF): okay, maybe the one other option, the "we have J Holiday at home" option. I haven't watched him much, but he should be a Reliable Vet for Malone to play at the wing off the bench. Reggie Jackson (PG): hoo boy. Gotta be honest, in his minutes last year, he looked bad. But, there's no one else who can play backup point, soooooo let's hope he takes advantage of the offseason and training camp and bounces back. Zeke Nnaji (PF/C): a stretch 4 the Nuggets just extended, with the idea of making him a long-term backup for Jokic. He's looked good when the coaching staff gives him the opportunity, but it's been in very limited bursts outside of garbage time. Can switch on defense, but still seemed to be learning how to switch. Good outside shot, but his bad FT% might mean that's fake. Has a good nose for the ball on the offensive glass, but doesn't use his size well enough on the defensive glass to keep people from sneaking by him to steal those rebounds. I'm nervously optimistic in what he'll show in a solid 10-18 MPG. Chances are, his on/off numbers will be among the worst in the league because of who he's replacing. Julian Strawther (SG/SF): rookie out of Gonzaga who was absolutely scorching the nets in preseason. Moved and cut like he'd been playing with the team for years. Others! DeAndre Jordan (C): by all accounts one of the nicest guys in the NBA. Locker room presence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXK0xYZ7KOo Peyton Watson (SF/PF): he looked good last season, but early signs are that he'll get buried. It's a shame, he has a ton of defensive potential and improved rapidly. Colin Gillespie (PG): undrafted guy who missed the last season with injury, so this is his redshirt rookie year. Jalen Pickett (PG): rookie, plays an Andre Miller style back-to-the-basket playmaking style they call "booty ball." Hunter Tyson (PF): rookie, stretch 4 that can defend, supposedly. Coaching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GIr8Dzq2To Michael Malone got the faith of the ownership over the past several years, or at least, they're so cheap they didn't want to pay extra to fire him and replace him with someone else. And, obviously, it paid off. Old school sort of coach, he's the son of Brendan Malone (RIP) and paid his dues for many years, including as the architect of a great Pacers defense as an assistant. Annoying fans constantly call for his firing over  ROTATIONS just like every other team's annoying fans do, but only the critique of not playing young guys enough really lands, to me.Stats and predictions! Last year's ORTG: 117.6 (5th of 30) Up or down in 2024? Up: Jamal will play even better. Last year's DRTG: 114.2 (15th of 30) Up or down in 2024? Up: this was mostly a product of playing down to what was needed to win the West; I expect a little more competitiveness in the division this year. Last year's record: 53-29 Up or down in 2024? Up, as above. Last year's result: championship! The same or down in 2024? RUNNING IT BACK kingcobweb fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Oct 23, 2023 |
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Oct 23, 2023 22:49
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