First, last season review
Regular season record: 47 wins and 25 losses, 3rd in the West.
Playoff record: 4-2 Ricketers in the first round, swept by the Suns 0-4 in the second round.
Last season's Denver Nuggets had a bad time, with jamal Murray, one of the team's absolute cores, undergoing surgery after suffering a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee in April. According to previous reports, Murray has no hope of returning until February or March next year, and he will miss the team's first half of next season.
Murray's injury was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Nuggets last season. In the first round of the 2019-20 playoffs in the Western Conference, the scene of Murray and Mitchell Immortals fighting is still vivid, and it is undeniable that the Nuggets with healthy Murray are really good at power, they can even fight the Clippers with George Jr. double stars in the Western Conference Semifinals 7 games and cut off the opponent, based on Murray's outstanding performance at that time, the Nuggets decisively pulled out a 5-year, $170 million largest contract in team history at the end of the season.
But with Murray's season being reimbursed, everything seems to be in vain. To make matters worse, shortly after Murray's injury, the team's big player Will Barton also suffered a hamstring injury, and did not make a comeback until the playoffs, although the team also introduced players such as Gordon and Rivers Jr., and the overall strength of the team improved slightly, but the run-in time, single play, injuries and other problems doomed the Nuggets last season not to go long.
It is worth noting that although Murray's injury has caused a sharp decline in the overall strength of the team, the team's absolute core Jokic has been very stable, playing all 72 games last season, averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, and successfully elected as the MVP of the regular season. Helpless to the playoffs, the Nuggets' offensive problems began to be exposed, they were difficult to eliminate the Blazers in the first round, the semi-finals faced the Suns without any ability to fight back, facing the repeated attacks of Paul, Ayton and Booker, the team had no other offensive point to respond to except Jokic, and finally the Nuggets were swept out by the opponent with a 0-4 score, stopping the division semifinals.
2. Offseason actions
Introductions: Marcus Howard (two-way contract), Jeff Green ($9 million over two years), Hyland (26th pick in the first round)
Transfers out: McGee (Suns), Millsap (Nets)
Renewal: Will Barton ($30 million for two years), Jamacao Green ($17 million for two years), Rivers Jr. (one-year contract)
Current squad:
Defenders: Murray, Will Barton, Monte Morris, Rivers Jr., Campazzo, PJ Dozier, Marcus Howard
Forwards: Aaron Gordon, Porter Jr., Hyland, Jeff Green, Jamakau Green, Kanka
Centre-forwards: Jokic, Pol Pol, Zik Najib
After being eliminated from the playoffs, the Nuggets didn't make much of a change in the roster this offseason, signing Jeff Green, who had been at the Nets last season, to strengthen the team's forward position, while also renewing Barton, Rivers Jr. and Jamacao Green, retaining the main rotation players.
1. The two-year, $32 million extension of Will Barton is an important move for the Nuggets. Although plagued by a hamstring injury, Barton played only 56 games last season, averaging 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game was also important for the Nuggets. He can score points and defend fiercely enough, but the biggest hidden danger in Barton is his health, according to statistics, in the past three seasons, Barton has missed a total of 69 games.
2. The Nuggets and Rivers Jr. completed the contract extension, and the two sides signed a one-year contract. Last season, Rivers Jr. came to the Nuggets as fire captain, and he seized the opportunity to prove himself, playing in 36 games for the Nuggets, averaging 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, shooting 42.4%.
Rivers Jr. may not be up to the starting guard of a strong team, but he is enough to play the role of a bench bandit. Especially before Murray returns, the Nuggets need a steady scoring point like Rivers Jr.
3, Jeff Green is a veteran of the battlefield, his playoff experience, projection, defense are very good, but he has passed his 35th birthday on August 29, for such a veteran, the Nuggets should not expect too much from him.
In any case, through Green's outstanding performance at the Nets last season, it can be seen that he can not only be qualified for the third and fourth positions on the court, but sometimes even go to the cameo center position, which will allow the Nuggets to further enrich the team's tactics, and with a master passer like Jokic, Green's performance after coming to the Nuggets is also worth looking forward to.
4. According to The Nuggets' reporter Mike Singer, the team is discussing a contract extension with Gordon, who is expected to book a four-year contract worth $88 million.
When Gordon came to the team, his performance on the defensive end was remarkable, averaging 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in the regular season. He is a big man with a large physique and super athleticism, he can defend three positions, move efficiently without the ball, and easily cut into the basket.
But he has never been a very offensive player, and last season's playoffs were often habitually invisible when the team needed someone to stand up and score. If Gordon's contract is finalized, the Nuggets must believe that they can entrust it with the offensive end. Gordon should also be aware of his shortcomings, having reportedly trained in Los Angeles throughout the offseason, with a focus on honing his mid-range low-post offensive skills in the hope that he will have a big breakthrough in the new season.
Third, the new season outlook
1. Murray's health
The Nuggets' lack of disadvantage in the 2019-20 playoffs is in stark contrast to the inadequacy of the 2020-21 playoffs, and Murray is one of the variables. After watching the Nuggets performance in this year's playoffs, Xiaobian and many Nuggets fans feel the same feelings, if Murray is there, the Suns are not expected to win as easily as in the Western Conference semifinals.
According to previous reports, Murray did not have any hope of making a comeback until February or March next year, and it is no accident that he can catch up with the final stage of the new season. According to statistics, in the 2020-21 season, when Jokic and Murray were on the floor at the same time, the Denver Nuggets' offensive shooting percentage (125.00) was even higher than the Nets' (124.6) when Harden and Durant were on the floor.
There is no doubt that Murray is an important part of nuggets coach Malone's tactical system, but will the sudden return to the team after a long absence affect the overall operation of the team? Will there be some confusion about the team chemistry? These issues are all to be considered. The most important thing, of course, is Murray's personal status.
A torn cruciate ligament is a major injury, but now that players have suffered such an injury, they are generally good after professional treatment, and if Murray can return healthy, he will still be Jokic's most powerful helper.
2, the rapid growth of the little Potter
Over the past two seasons, Porter Jr.'s rapid growth seems to have given the Nuggets hope for the future. Last season, Porter Jr. averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the regular season, shooting 54.2% from the field and 44.5% from three-point range; he also averaged 17.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the playoffs, shooting 39.7% from three-point range.
In Porter Jr., we can see the confidence and decisiveness of the superstar, in the absence of Murray, he got a lot of ball rights, personal confidence and data have been greatly improved, recently, the US media updated the odds of the fastest improved player in the new season, ranking first is the Nuggets Porter Jr.
Porter Jr.'s ability to further improve his talent in the new season is a very critical factor for the Nuggets, according to statistics, since Murray's injury, Porter averaged 21.4 points per game in the next 32 games, shooting 42.7% from three-point range. That bodes well for Porter to become Jokic's second choice, which will be a key factor for the Nuggets to stay competitive without Murray.
But it's important to note that Porter has huge potential in scoring, but he still needs to step up defensively and organise offense. In last season's playoffs, Suns coach Monty saw the weakness of Porter Jr.'s defense and made targeted arrangements, while Porter Jr.'s playing time was reduced, and the Nuggets were swept by the Suns. As the most entrusted player in the team, Porter Jr. is bound to be under great pressure in the new season, but this is also the only way to grow.
3. The soul of the team, Jokic
Last season, the Nuggets' absolute core Jokic played the best of his career, he maintained full attendance in 72 games, averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and per (player efficiency value) was as high as 31.3, ranking first in the league. In the end, Jokic overpowered Embiid and Curry to win the regular season MVP.
In the new season, or many seasons to come, the big man from Serbia is still the absolute core of the Nuggets, as the most versatile organizational center in the small-ball era, he can not only dominate the attack and defense under the basket, but also rely on one hand to pass the ball, and one person has revitalized the entire team's offense. At present, the 26-year-old Jokic still has room for improvement, and whether he can maintain the efficiency of last season and whether he can build on last season will be the most critical factor in determining the Performance of the Nuggets next season.
In a video previously posted by the Nuggets, we can see that Jokic has become thinner this offseason. Indeed, for this player who is not very athletically talented, the huge tonnage will indeed affect his movement rate, and what kind of performance Teacher Yo will have in the new season after weight loss is also worth our expectations.
There is also a problem to note that among the current team substitutes, the only center players who can play on the top of Jokic are the young Pol Pohl (21 years old) and Zik Najib (20 years old). Pol Bohr did not enter the team rotation lineup last season, averaging only 5 minutes per game, and Zick Najib's performance in this summer's league has also been terrible, and if these two people can't catch up, Jo's playing time may be forced to increase again, which may be a major hidden danger for the Nuggets.
4. Summary
The Nuggets in the new season, the personnel has not changed much, basically retaining the main rotation lineup of last season, and the change in playing style will not be too big. Murray's condition after recovering from injury will be an X factor for the team, and his impact on the entire team in the late regular season and playoffs will be the most important focus for the Nuggets in the new season. Before Murray returns, the Nuggets desperately need to find a second scoring point, so the performance of Porter Jr. and Gordon on the offensive end is particularly important.
Roster depth is the Nuggets' biggest hidden danger at the moment, and newcomers like Hyland haven't proven themselves in the game yet, and in this big man-orchestrated offense system, the performance of role players will determine the team's upper limit in the playoffs.
(gege)