It is no secret that the Denver Nuggets are off to a disappointingly slow start. Where do we even start with their struggles through the first few games? They are shooting an abysmal percentage from the field, they haven’t been able to defend, and perhaps most importantly they haven’t been able to get fully healthy.
So what should we expect going forward? While their health is unpredictable (as is their defense if they are anything like Denver teams of the recent past), one thing we can expect to improve is their shooting.
When looking at each of the top ten guys on the Nuggets roster, it is quite glaring how down each of their field goal percentages are compared to their career averages, per NBA.com.
A. Afflalo: 2014-2015 = 33.3% Career = 45.7%
D. Arthur: 2014-2015 = 30.8% Career = 44.8%
W. Chandler: 2014-2015 = 32.7% Career = 44.4%
K. Faried: 2014-2015 = 45.7% Career = 55.2%
R. Foye: 2014-2015 = 47.9% Career = 41%
D. Gallinari: 2014-2015 = 24.2% Career = 41.7%
T. Lawson: 2014-2015 = 38.2% Career = 47.3%
J. McGee: 2014-2015 = 58.3% Career = 54.1%
T. Mozgov: 2014-2015 = 54.5% Career = 51.6%
N. Robinson: 2014-2015 = 48.6% Career = 42.7%
With the exception of a few players, most notably Randy Foye (who has been playing exceptional basketball), it has been more than a struggle from the field for our Nuggets. From a statistical perspective, one would expect those percentages to regress back to their career averages. So, Nuggets’ fans can at least hang their hat on that. However, the question will become whether or not they dig themselves in too big of a hole before it happens.