Denver Nuggets Stats Leaders: Midseason Report
Jan 26, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler (21) and Nuggets guard Ty Lawson (3) help Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) off the floor during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. The Clippers won 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
NBA teams have played more than half their games for the 2014-15 season, which means it’s a perfect time to look at the Denver Nuggets stats leaders through the first half.
Let’s be honest, before the season began, most Nuggets fans probably didn’t expect the team to be sporting a sub-.500 record and riding a seven-game losing streak come the end of January. But that’s exactly where things stand. The Nuggets are 18-27 and, following last night’s close loss to the L.A. Clippers on the road, losers of seven straight games. They Nuggets have been terrible on the road, losing 15 of their 21 games away from the Pepsi Center, and decidedly mediocre at home, posting a record of 12-12 on their home court. If the playoffs started today, the Nuggets would be sitting at the eleventh spot in the West, well behind the Phoenix Suns who would hold the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs.
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For better or worse, Nuggets management hasn’t completely decided to throw in the towel on the season yet, as the team continues to maintain its nucleus following the Timofey Mozgov to Cleveland, and Nate Robinson for Jameer Nelson trades. But time is running out. If the Nuggets are going to make a push to try and claw their way into the postseason, the next few games are vital. Otherwise, calls for GM Tim Connelly to blow this roster up are going to get louder and more frequent.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top three Denver Nuggets stats leaders in several key categories through the first half of the NBA Season.
Points Per Game
- Ty Lawson — 17.1 ppg
- Arron Afflalo — 15.2 ppg
- Wilson Chandler — 14.1 ppg
No surprises here as Lawson, Afflalo and Chandler have proven themselves to be the team’s most prolific and reliable scorers. On a game to game basis, if any member of the Nuggets is going to go off and put up 20 or more points, it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that it will be one of these three players.
Rebounds Per Game
- Kenneth Faried — 9 rpg
- J.J. Hickson — 6.6 rpg
- Wilson Chandler — 6 rpg
I’m honestly surprised Faried’s average is so high, as it seems like he’s had quite a few games where his rebound total has been shockingly low. Rookie Jusuf Nurkic finds himself just behind Chandler on this list with a 5.9 rpg average.
Assists Per Game
- Ty Lawson – 10 apg
- Jameer Nelson – 4.5 apg
- Arron Afflalo – 1.9 apg
It doesn’t say much for the Nuggets ability to move the ball that, outside of the team’s two point guards, there isn’t a player averaging over 2 assists per game. And, frankly, I would have never guessed Afflalo would be in the top three in assists on the team, since it seems like you can count on one finger the number of times per game that he looks to pass instead of shoot.
Steals Per Game
- Ty Lawson — 1.3 spg
- Gary Harris — 1.1 spg
- Darrell Arthur — 0.9 spg
Again, not a lot of surprises here since the Nuggets haven’t shown themselves to be a very active or particularly dangerous defensive team so far this year.
Blocks Per Game
- Jusuf Nurkic — 1.2 bpg
- JaVale McGee — 1.1. bpg
- Kenneth Faried — 0.7 bpg
McGee probably shouldn’t be on this list since he’s barely played for the Nuggets so far this year. If you take him out of consideration, Hickson would be next in line with 0.6 blocks per game.
Turnovers Per Game
- Ty Lawson — 2.7
- Jameer Nelson — 2.7
- Kenneth Faried — 1.7
This sounds about right, too. Lawson and Nelson handle the ball at their position more than any other players so they have more opportunities to turn the ball over. And for all of Faried’s gifts, holding on to the ball in the post is not one of his areas of strength.