Nuggets Early-Season Takeaways and Rest-of-Season Predictions

Oct 30, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) smiles during the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Kenneth Faried’s Success Correlates Directly with Denver’s Success:

Is it childish to highlight the relationship between Faried balling out and Nuggets snagging a “W” with only ten games as evidence? Maybe.

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Is it also childish to attribute team success to the performance of one of the teams’ best players? Probably.

Do I care? Nah.

Because if you crank back the clock and look at Faried’s achievements in 2013 and 2014, they correlate strongly with better Nuggets performance as well.

This season, Faried is averaging 19 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on 66 percent shooting during victories. In losses, he is posting 7 ppg and 9 rebounds on 44% shooting.

If you compare a similar metric to the Nuggets previous two seasons, the team is 9-3 when the Manimal posts 20-10 lines shooting above 60%, and a terrible 8-29 record when logging below 10-10 lines under 50 percent shooting.

In future endeavors, Malone needs to run his offense through an efficient Faried. The Manimal has a clear effect on the teams’ success, as one would imagine, but it is solvable by getting him smart looks and spacing the floor for him to dominate the boards.

Next: Mudiay's Turnover Problem