I don’t know if I’ve ever been this excited for a Nuggets season, which may seem a little odd given that their coming off their worst year in over a decade, but that’s kind of the point.
Throughout the George Karl era, I grew to expect an exciting, competitive team; that was just Denver Nuggets basketball. And really, the only thing that came to matter was how we performed in the postseason.
But this year is different. This year we’re cleansing our pallet with a big spoonful of hope.
I doubt even the most optimistic of Nuggets fans have the team competing for anything more than a slim chance at the eighth seed, but this season isn’t about this year; it’s about the future.
And while we haven’t yet made it to the games that count, the preseason has taught us a little something about what we can come to expect. With that said, here are three things we’ve learned from the first four Nuggets preseason games of 2015:
The Nuggets are ready for the “new” NBA
In today’s NBA, there is nothing more in vogue than small-ball basketball. Teams have been fiddling with the idea of a position-less brand of play for years, but after watching the Golden State Warriors defeated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals with Draymond Green playing large minutes at center, a precedent of success has been set.
To be fair, though, the true small-ball innovators were the Miami Heat teams that played Chris Bosh at the five during their final three title runs.
The point, though, is that it works. Small-ball basketball is no longer just a fad or a gimmick; it’s a winning formula, and the Nuggets are in the perfect position to take advantage of it.
For large portions of the season, expect to see 6’8″ Kenneth Faried playing at center, 6’10” Danilo Gallinari at power forward and 6’8″ Wilson Chandler at small forward. That’s the exact lineup the Nuggets started on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors, and I expect it to be the lineup they use to start the season, too, at least until Jusuf Nurkic returns from his knee surgery.
And even when Nurkic does return, don’t be surprised if this is the lineup the Nuggets finish most games with.
Emmanuel Mudiay is even better than we thought
Forget the turnovers. That’s not important right now. Every rookie point guard is going to have ball-security issues, especially one like Mudiay who will have such a high usage rate.
After four games, what Nuggets fans need to be excited about is Mudiay’s shooting. Now, if you’re saying, “What are you talking about? He’s shooting 34 percent from the field,” well, you’re right. And to be fair, that’s not great. What is great, though, is that he’s shooting 40 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Mudiay’s most-cited criticism coming into the NBA was his lack of shooting, drawing comparisons to guys like Rajon Rondo and Ricky Rubio. But through Summer League and the Nuggets first four preseason games, it’s clear that Mudiay is hardly inept.
Now, Mudiay’s not going to shoot 40 percent from three during the season — I doubt he’ll shoot 35 percent — but his shot isn’t broken, and if he can find away to improve his shooting efficiency over the next few years, then I’m not sure what weaknesses this kid will have in his game.
Get excited, Nuggets fans.
The Nuggets are huge
Yes, the Nuggets have an opportunity to be at the forefront of the small-ball revolution, but that doesn’t mean they actually have to be small to do it.
There’s a chance that at any given time the Nuggets could be rolling out a lineup where all five guys are over 6’4″, four are over 6’8″ and three are over 6’10”, all while keeping the type of athleticism that’ll allow Denver to run up and down the court like any good Nuggets team should.
We all know what Jusuf Nurkic can do, and when he’s healthy, he’s going be a huge part of this Nuggets team, but others may not be as aware of Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic, to more foreign big man who are set to play major roles in Denver this year.
Both guys have gotten major run throughout the preseason, and they’ve produced, averaging nearly 25 combined points a game.
With both guys standing at 6’10”, it gives the Nuggets the flexibility to play big if they need to, and despite the fact that so many teams are moving towards a small-ball mentality, this is still basketball, a game where being tall tends to helps.