Welcome back Denver Nuggets fans! The season is off and running (sort of) for your favorite basketball team. The Stiffs Staff got together to talk about their impressions from media day and what they are watching for in the upcoming exhibition slate.
What quote or player stood out to you the most at Media Day?
Zach Mikash (@ZachMikash): For me it was Christian Braun. He talked extensively about how the team’s mindset has changed and compared to last year. In particular I found it illuminating that, as Christian put it, the players have everything they could ask for “new energy, new coaches…” Will we ever know how bad it got last year in the Michael Malone/Calvin Booth cold war? Probably not, but Braun’s comments at media day made it clear that a) it was a huge issue and b) the issue was solved. I also particularly liked Christian’s follow up to those statements: “make sure this is a no excuse year.”
Gordon Gross (@GMoneyNuggs): Aaron Gordon saying, “[I will] just turn up on defense. We have so much talent on the offensive side, I’m not even really worried about it.” AG looked focused and healthy and was adamant that he had spent the offseason doing everything he could to make sure he would play more games now that he has recovered from his leg injuries that hampered last year. But the last time he talked about being the connecting piece on defense the Nuggets won a title. The Nuggets boosted their offensive potential this offseason with Bruce Brown’s return, the trade for Cam Johnson, and adding Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr. to strengthen the bench in a big way, but there are only so many shots to go around. Aaron Gordon’s offensive game looked as well-rounded as it ever had last year as he found a three-point stroke to go with his finishes from the dunker spot. His willingness from Day 1 to instead put his focus completely on making sure the Nuggets have the defense they desperately need to win a title is just one more reason he’s Mr. Nugget.
Nick Hertzog (@NickHertzogINC): If AG is Mr. Nugget, Bruce Brown is Uncle Stiff. I can’t think of a player who has wanted to be a Nugget more than Bruce, which he reiterated in his comments on Monday. “I was already on a plane to Denver,” he said–completely straight-faced–when asked about his desire to return to the team during the offseason. In an era of super teams, big market allure, and celebrity branding, Bruce reminded me, again, that teams trump egos. The writer Kurt Vonnegut once coined the term “karass” for people who meet randomly in life but have an instant, unexplainable bond, almost like they’re tuned to the same cosmic frequency. BB is in our karass, so it seems like the stars aligned to bring him back home.
Which player has the most crucial preseason in front of them?
Mikash: I’m going to go with Julian Strawther. He was just starting to crack the rotation before getting hurt last season, and then once he was good to go again it was hard to find him minutes. He had an outstanding game 6 against the OKC Thunder but disappeared in Game 7. Depth was a huge topic of discussion following Denver’s elimination and it’s clear that addressing the depth issues was Denver’s biggest offseason priority. They did just that and added two vets to come off the bench on the wing. That may have thrust Julian back to the outside looking-in on the rotation, but I also don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that he’s not going to get minutes. A strong preseason will go a long way to keeping him in the lineup.
Gross: I’ll take DaRon Holmes. He spent last year with the team recovering from his Achilles surgery, but this is not going to be exactly the same scheme on either end and head coach David Adelman has already mentioned wanting to play some two-center lineups with Joker and Big Val together. Holmes is the backup 4 and small-ball 5, but he played mostly center in college and has never played NBA minutes next to a seven-footer like Big Val, let alone in a center-hubbed offense. Denver can choose to go small with Cam Johnson or Peyton Watson at the 4, or run AG with the bench. They still have Zeke Nnaji or Hunter Tyson in an emergency. Dario Saric was the reserve center to start last season – one who was also a tweener and could play power forward if necessary – and it went so poorly he played barely 200 minutes all year. Holmes is starting the preseason as the reserve 4 and small-ball 5, but how long he can keep that role depends on how quickly he adapts to the NBA game. These early looks at defining his role are crucial for him.
Hertzog: The Nuggets need Jalen Pickett to be more than a warm body as the backup PG. He needs to be ready to step into the rotation should Murray deal with leg issues again this season, with the aim of being in the playoff rotation, ultimately. The “flow” of the bench came up repeatedly on Monday, and Pickett will have a lot to do with establishing that bench flow and identity as one of its primary ballhandlers and playmakers. I’m curious to see how well he sets up Holmes and Watson, in particular, since Bruce, THJ, and Jonas are seasoned vets who know how to generate their own shots. If the Nuggets young bigs can puzzle out the offense, the bench will have that much more defensive flexibility against the other stacked teams in the West.
What should the Nuggets do with the 15th roster spot?
Mikash: Well, what they should have done was sign a competent point guard to compete with Pickett for minutes. Being that it’s October now though, the competent point guard well has run pretty dry. However there’s still some options out there, albeit none of them great. Do you take a chance on a guy in his early to mid-twenties that might just need a change of scenery like Talen Horton-Tucker? Do you give a shot to an older, never really was, player like Landry Shamet or Cameron Payne? Russell Westbrook is still available (I kid…sort of). Point is, you’re not going to get a homerun swing with the 15th guy on the roster, particularly signing someone so late, but I do think the Nuggets are playing with fire with only two actual point guards on their roster. Sure, Nikola Jokic can cover the playmaking weaknesses of almost any guard and sure, there’s value to keeping that roster spot open until after the trade deadline when the buyout market hits, but you’re one Jamal Murray nagging hamstring injury away from starting Pickett in bubble wrap because he’s the only option you have left.
Gross: I agree with Zach on the point guard situation. Both Bruce Brown and Jamal Murray were hampered by injuries last year, and newcomer Cam Johnson also missed a ton of games. He hinted on Media Day that some of that was out of his control (presumably for tanking purposes) but regardless, there is a profound need for a backstop on the creator and ball-handler role in the regular season. And regardless of how much you liked Curtis Jones in Summer League, you do not want home court advantage to be placed in his hands in any kind of injury situation. Monte Morris is still on my radar for this role after the Pacers cut him for a calf injury that will take weeks to heal, but regardless the Nuggets should be serious about making sure there are enough point guards on the roster to get through the regular season with Murray and Brown still healthy for the playoffs.
Hertzog: I agree backup PG is the most obvious (and probably only) need. But I’m actually fine with the FO holding on to the last roster spot, and not just to zag for more content. There should still be some decent options if there’s an urgent need with the roster, but keeping a spot open for the time being makes a possible midseason trade easier to pull off if a more glaring weakness develops, and, if not, there are some decent options that should be available later without needing to commit to anything specific now.
