The NBA season is lower than two months away. To arrange for the 2024-25 season, we’re wanting on the three greatest questions dealing with every NBA staff for subsequent yr. Subsequent up is the previous champions, attempting to rebound from a second-round playoff loss, the Denver Nuggets.
1. Will Nikola Jokic stay the NBA’s greatest participant?
The Nuggets middle gained his third NBA MVP award within the final 4 years final season, placing up averages of 26.4 factors, 12.4 rebounds and 9 assists. For the previous 4 seasons, Jokic has led the NBA in the entire greatest superior stats: win shares, Worth Over Substitute Participant, Participant Effectivity Score and box-score plus/minus, main in each offensive and defensive BPM within the final three years.
The Serbian huge man has additionally been remarkably sturdy, lacking solely 24 video games in these 4 seasons. However he is turning 30 in February, coming off two seasons the place he performed 180 whole video games, plus an Olympic match this summer season. Jokic hardly ever will get injured to the purpose he sits out, a testomony to his toughness. However can Denver hold banking on Jokic to play over 90 p.c of the staff’s video games whereas remaining a top-5 scorer, passer and rebounder?
Actually, he could nicely hold doing all these issues. However pretty much as good as Jokic has been, it is nonetheless harmful to take his dominance with no consideration.
2. Can the staff’s younger bench lastly step up?
Generally it seems there is a disconnect between Denver’s entrance workplace and head coach Michael Malone. GM Calvin Sales space retains accumulating gamers from late within the first spherical and early within the second spherical, as a way to present low-priced rotation gamers for the Nuggets. Malone retains dropping religion in these gamers, preferring veterans like Justin Vacation and Reggie Jackson off the bench. This yr, Malone could haven’t any alternative.
Denver let beginning wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope go away for Orlando in free company, traded Jackson in a cost-saving transfer and let Vacation go, seemingly forcing Malone to offer minutes to younger gamers. 23-year-old Christian Braun ought to take over KCP’s place within the beginning lineup, whereas Malone goes to have to offer extra minutes to 21-year-old Peyton Watson and 22-year-old Julian Strawther, just because he does not produce other choices.
Primarily, this can be a wager on Denver’s scouting and participant growth, as a result of many of those younger gamers weren’t reliable final season. The younger bench must get higher, as a result of the choice is taking part in newly-signed Russell Westbrook huge minutes, which hasn’t been a successful technique for years.
3. Will the Nuggets begin taking and making extra threes?
The Nuggets have been a good tenth in three-point proportion final season. Sadly, they have been final within the NBA in three-point quantity, which meant that their environment friendly 37.4 p.c taking pictures behind the arc led to ending twenty fifth in made threes. Subtracting Caldwell-Pope (125 threes on 40.6 p.c) and including Westbrook (42 threes on 27.3 p.c) will solely exacerbate the problem.
A few of that’s Jokic discovering open teammates close to the basket, however Denver was solely sixth within the NBA in pictures inside 5 toes of the ring, and third in makes an attempt 15-19 toes from the basket. They’re merely going to should take extra three-pointers and fewer mid-range pictures subsequent season, particularly within the playoffs. The query is whether or not Malone and the Nuggets can regulate their offensive philosophy to take extra threes and whether or not they have the personnel to make extra.
