If you’re not excited for the upcoming Nuggets season, then you just haven’t been paying attention. I can’t promise you that they’re going to be great, but I can tell you that they’re going to be a heck of a lot better than most people (*cough cough* Vegas) think.
Most importantly, though, this is going to be the most fun Nuggets fans have had watching basketball since the 57-win team in 2012.
You’ve got the rookie sensation, Emmanuel Mudiay, who is easily the biggest attraction to come to Denver since Carmelo Anthony. Then there’s the Bosnian Bear, Jusuf Nurkic, who’s quickly proving himself to be one of the most entertaining athletes in sports. Danilo Gallinari finally looks to be healthy again, and Kenneth Faried looks to have an even bigger bounce in his step.
I could spend 15,000 words talking about the potential surrounding this Nuggets team, and yet I keep coming back to one guy … Wilson Chandler.
Chandler, who probably takes more threes during one game than says words in a single day, continues to fly under the radar, nationally and locally. To most, he’s no more than the fifth starter on an average team.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Wilson Chandler is the Denver Nuggets lottery ticket. If he hits, even the wildest Nuggets predictions (of which I hold a few) may end up looking tame by the end of the season.
If the Nuggets are going burst out of rebuilding mode and introduce themselves as playoff contenders a good two or three years before anyone expected them to arrive, it’s going to be because Chandler gave Michael Malone and the rest of the Nuggets the freedom to do what they do best.
With size and athleticism up and down Denver’s roster, the Nuggets should be able to tailor their lineup to fit almost any situation. Want to play small? Alright, then slide Faried to the five and Gallo to the four. Big? No worries. Put Nurkic in at the center and let Nikola Jokic play as a pick-and-pop power forward.
But if the Nuggets want to be able to shift their playing style around at a whim, they’re going to need someone to act as the glue, keeping the whole thing from falling apart. That guy is Chandler.
Take a look at Wilson Chandler’s basketball reference page, and you’ll notice something interesting:
“Position: Small Forward and Shooting Guard and Power Forward”
A decade from now, half the league will probably categorized as “position-less,” but right now it’s still an oddity, and a major advantage. At 6’8″, Chandler can play as a shooting guard in big lineups and a power forward in small lineups. That type of flexibility allows the Nuggets to drastically change the makeup of their lineup, while still keeping it’s core players intact.
How important is having a guy like that? Just ask the Golden State Warriors, who owe a big thanks to Draymond Green and his positional flexibility for their NBA Championship.
Chandler is an extremely talented “three-and-d” wing, and his versatility makes him all the more valuable. All you have to do is look at his 19-rebound performance against the Phoenix Suns last Friday to understand what this guy can do for the Nuggets.
Each and every player on the Nuggets roster has upside heading into 2015. If they can all reach their full potential — understandably, a big if — don’t be surprised if they make a surprise run at the playoffs in the rough and rugged Western Conference.