Kenneth Faried’s Disappearing Act

Feb 3, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) reacts to a foul during the second quarter of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

By now, the story of Kenneth Faried and his amazing offseason is well worn territory: the golden run with Team USA, the huge contract extension from the Nuggets, and the sky-high expectations that surrounded The Manimal (and the rest of the Denver squad) when the season began. This was supposed to be the year Faried went from being Denver’s high-energy semi-secret weapon to a full-fledge NBA star. Unfortunately, that’s not how the season is playing out.

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Last night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets (which the Nuggets lost by 28 points, their third straight defeat and second consecutive loss of 25 points or more since the All-Star break) marked a low-point for Faried, as head coach Brian Shaw held Faried out of the starting lineup and instead chose to have him come off the bench, something that’s only happened two other times this season. Adding insult to injury, Faried played just under 13 minutes, his lowest minutes total of the entire season (although his time was certainly impacted when he left the game at one point to receive an X-Ray on his injured hand, but he later returned to the game).

If Shaw was hoping the demotion would spark something in Faried, it didn’t work. Faried finished with just 4 points (on 1-of-4 shooting), 5 rebounds and a block, while racking up 3 fouls and a turnover. It marked the fourth straight sub-par game for Faried, whose last four performances break down like this:

Feb. 10 at L.A. Lakers: 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 21 minutes of action.
Feb. 20 at Milwuakee Bucks: 8 points on 4-of-11 shooting, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 22 minutes of action.
Feb. 22 at OKC Thunder: 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 21 minutes of action.
Feb. 23 vs Brooklyn Nets: 4 points on 1-of-4 shooting, 5 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 13 minutes of action.

That means over the last four games, Faried is averaging 4 points (with a 28% field goal percentage…yuck!), 5.5 rebounds, 1 steal, 0.5 blocks, 1 turnover and 2.25 fouls per game. His average +/- rating for the stretch is -10.5, with the lowlight being the -21 he posted in the game at OKC. Even in a season when Faried’s statistical performance is lagging, those averages are still far below his 11.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 49.6% shooting per game averages. (It’s worth nothing that the horrible 4-game run was proceeded by a 22-point, 10-rebound performance against the Thunder on February 9, but that doesn’t change the fact that the 4 games following that double-double easily represent his worst 4-game stretch of the season.)

With that stat line, it’s surprising Nuggets fans haven’t called the Denver police to file a missing persons report for Faried or submitted his headshot to be featured on a milk carton.

Following the game, Shaw sang the all too familiar refrain of adjusting his starting lineup to try to find a combination of players who are going to work well together and give it their all. He said he’s looking for a group of bench players who can come in and change the energy of the game, a role that would seem to be tailor-made for Faried’s style of play if he chooses to embrace the sixth-man role. And Shaw made it clear that he’s willing to continue tinkering with the lineup the rest of the season, so if Faried chooses to react to the benching in a negative way, he could find himself on the court less and less as the season progresses.

There are a lot of things to be disappointed about in terms of how this season has gone for the Nuggets. But right at the top of that list is the complete let-down that the season has been for Faried after coming off an offseason in which he really made a name for himself and the organization rewarded him financially. There’s no telling how this scenario will play out. There were rumors that a handful of teams expressed interest in trading for Faried before the deadline, but nothing materialized. That means the Nuggets either consider him to be part of their long-term plans or, the more likely scenario (at least based on the front office’s public commitment to Brian Shaw going forward), they are going to explore moving him as part of a draft day package.

Kenneth Faried has become a fan-favorite in Denver, so ideally he can put whatever issues are affecting his game behind him and recommit himself to this team, regardless of the win and loss record. If not, I fear his time with the Nuggets may be coming to a close sooner rather than later.

Next: Grading the Arron Afflalo Trade

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