Nuggets Player Rankings: No. 2, Kenneth Faried
The Denver Nuggets’ preseason roster includes 19 players, and the team will try to figure out which 15 of them deserve a shot during the regular season throughout the team’s seven-game exhibition slate.
But, for now, how do these players stack up? We polled our staff writers and editor at Nugg Love to get a consensus power ranking of every player on the roster, and we’ll be releasing one player each day from October 5 to 23, starting from No. 19 and finishing at No. 1.
Going into his first season of a big contract, Kenneth Faried is expected to be of the Nuggets’ key players in 2015-16.
Who is Kenneth Faried?
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Faried is a 25-year-old, 6’8” forward from Newark, New Jersey. He was selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by Denver. Since being drafted, Faried has played his entire career with the Nuggets, and he now heads into his fifth season.
He’s averaged close to a double-double for his career with 12.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and has started 267 of the 281 games he’s played. He made an immediate impact for Denver, starting 39 of his 46 contests in his rookie season, averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds and earned a spot on the All-Rookie First Team.
After a few more similarly successful seasons, Faried got his payday, signing a five-year, $60 million extension in 2014.
Headed into the new season, he is expected to play like a star, as he gets paid like one.
Strengths
Faried’s biggest strength is his rebounding ability. With a career average of 8.7 rebounds, Faried is a terrific rebounder, despite being undersized for a big man. A very good total rebound percentage of 17.8 percent for his career is how the big man makes his money. When on the floor, everyone expects Faried to dominate the glass, which is a very important part of the game.
Another big strength of the 25-year-old big man is his efficiency. Despite having a limited offensive game, Faried does a good job of shooting a high percentage from the floor while scoring at a decent clip. A career average of 12.2 points per game combined with 54 percent shooting from the floor shows that he plays within his limits, doing most of his scoring from inside the paint.
Arguably Faried’s most important strength is his energy. The foundation of his game is the ability to play at 100 percent for every minute he’s on the floor. Fighting for loose balls, grabbing every rebound in sight and and always flying around for dunks and blocks cause teammates and fans always feed off and admire his energetic level of play.
When the Nuggets are struggling, Faried is always there to pick up the energy.
Weaknesses
Faried’s most notable weakness is his shooting. He is not a good shooter outside of the paint, and is fairly useless as a jump shooter. Because of this, it can sometimes be hard to find spacing on the floor, as Faried does nearly all of his work inside. It’s important for the forward to play alongside a center who, at the very least, has some jump-shooting ability, and can space the floor as needed.
Another weakness in Faried’s game is as an individual defender. While he is a decent shot blocker and can protect the rim, he struggles containing his man one-on-one. His solid rim-protecting prowess, however, is usually able to salvage his defensive efficiency.
2015-16 Outlook
Kenneth Faried is once again expected to play a huge role for the Nuggets this season. Guaranteed a starting spot and big minutes, he will be expected to play up to his big contract.
Faried is good for a bunch of double-doubles and high-flying plays, however, this is the year the Nuggets hope to see him make the next step into a more reliable team leader and all-around star.