Andrew Kasmarek, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler are getting you ready for the NBA season. The previews feature all sorts of information to get you ready for the start of the season.
What I know...
- The Nuggets shouldn't have fired George Karl because of his sustained success without a superstar but when you lose your Exec. of the Year in Masai Ujiri you're going to see some turnover. They did get arguably the hottest assistant "coach in waiting" in Brian Shaw to replace Karl. He finally gets his first head job after years of being linked to them.
- Ty Lawson's contract extension takes effect this year. He really came into his own last year (16.7 ppg, 6.9 assists per game and started a career high 71 games) and became the Nuggets' best player.
- As I previously stated, the Nuggets do not have a superstar, thus some feel they are held back by this. I don't necessarily agree. Losing Andre Iguodala will hurt, in my opinion.
The X-Factor: PF Kenneth Faried - "The Manimal" is a huge key to the Nuggets frontcourt. They are lacking a competent center. JaVale McGee is garby and newly acquired JJ Hickson is plenty undersized for an NBA center. I do like the Faried/Hickson rebounding tandem, however. Both averaged over nine boards per game last season. Faried's aggressive play and rebounding prowess will carry this team this year.
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| The Manimal in action. |
The Big Question: Can the Nuggets move deep in the postseason without a "superstar?" - This has always been the question since the Nuggets made that Carmelo trade that brought them plenty of assets. That trade made the Nuggets a better "team" almost instantly but they still seemed to have fallen short of their goals every year since. I think that this team will be hampered this year without Danilo Gallinari full healthy (torn ACL late last season). However, if there's one thing the Nuggets have, it's depth at all positions. I love Wilson Chandler but I just don't know how well the rest of this team can settle into their roles with all this depth.
Key Additions: PG Nate Robinson, SG Randy Foye, PF Darrell Arthur, PF/C Hickson - Let's see if Nate-Rob can have another dream season like he did with the Bulls last year. I doubt it. Foye is what he is. He's a three point shooter at this point and doesn't do much more that we can call an elite skill. I like Darrell Arthur a lot off the bench behind Faried.
Key Departures: Karl, G/F Andre Iguodala, G/F Corey Brewer, C Kosta Koufos - Losing Iguodala means losing an elite perimeter defender (although he's not getting any younger) and Brewer is also a great defender. That defense that was 10th overall last season, will probably take a hit. They flipped Koufos to Memphis for Arthur this offseason. Koufos was redundant with backup C Timofey Mozgov on the roster.
Nuggets Draft: Combo guard Erick Green, PF Joffrey Lauvergne - They moved back by trading their no. 27 Rudy Gobert to Utah and ended up with these two guys. Green led D-I basketball in scoring last year for Virginia Tech and Lauvergne will most likely be stashed in Europe this season.
Prediction: I think the Nuggets are stuck in NBA no man's land this year. They most likely aren't going to compete for a championship but aren't anywhere near bad enough to be a lotto team, barring injuries. I look for them to still finish second in the Northwest division and probably get a 5 seed, give or take a spot in either direction.
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