Dear Santa,
With everything going on, we have been relatively good this year.
We let go of our top point guard in hopes of bringing unity and integrity back to the organization, drafted one of the best athletes in the lottery to lead our team to future success, and hired a defensive minded head coach primed for an opportunity to be a catalyst for young players.
FanSided
We are rebuilding like a good little NBA team and our patience mixed with commitment to working hard on the court surely saves us from getting any coal in our stockings this year.
You probably know this already, being from the North Pole and all magical and stuff, but we are on a three game winning streak and are winners of five of our last six. Consistency has been a big issue for us as we seem to be either hot or cold and never in between, but through all of that, are still exceeding many people’s expectations.
If the playoffs started today, we would actually be in the playoffs, matched up for a sure sweep at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. What a Christmas miracle!
Having said all of this, I think it’s only deserved that we get some high quality presents crafted by the best elves you got. Please find below a list organized by importance of what we’d like to find under our tree in a few days:
Roster Health
Dec 3, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone talks to his players during the first quarter in a game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
This has been a huge problem for the Denver Nuggets all season. We started off rough with Wilson Chandler getting put on the shelf for the whole season and fans are still waiting around to see Jusef Nurkic get back on the court for the first time since his knee injury.
To go along with long term injuries, we’ve had a slew of short term ones along the way to keep Coach Malone from getting to play with his full set of tools. Kenneth Faried, Gary Harris, Joffrey Lauvergne, Danilo Gallinari, and now Emmanuel Mudiay have all battled nagging injuries.
This Christmas, we could really use some good health to build on the growth we’ve seen from Denver so far. It will help with the grind of the season and team chemistry throughout the rest of the year.
Playmakers
This may have to come via trade, but the Nuggets need at least one other baller to take over when a play breaks down. Gallinari is their leading scorer, but still hasn’t been able to create for himself when the shot clock is running down.
We’ve seen Gary Harris begin to excel more over the last month. It is great to see his development and potential shine through. Mudiay will get there, but is struggling way too much with his shot right now to pull up and make a contested jumper when needed.
I discussed this in an earlier article, but the Nuggets may be interested in hitting the market to try and add a scorer to bolster the offense. Let’s just hope they don’t have to give up any of their key pieces for it.
Ball Movement
The Nuggets have the fifth worst offensive rating at 98.7 right now and much of that is coming from poor ball movement.
While we don’t expect perfect execution on the half-court every time down, leading to our wish above, Denver goes through serious ball movement droughts during a game leading to them giving up leads or falling too far behind to come back.
Eight times this season, the Nuggets have scored 85 points or less during a game. A lot of this falls on Malone and his offensive sets, but the Nuggets need to keep whipping passes inside and out if they want to keep their winning ways going.
More from Nugg Love
- Was trading Bones Hyland a mistake for the Denver Nuggets?
- Did Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets break Anthony Davis?
- Denver Nuggets stars face serious disrespect in recent NBA rankings poll
- What will it take for Denver Nuggets star to become ‘inevitable?’
- Denver Nuggets NBA Training Camp report, other preseason dates to know
Ball Security
Much of this falls on the rookie, Emmanuel Mudiay, who is leading all point guards in turnovers, in a bad way. The Nuggets are one of the worst teams in the NBA giving up almost 16 turnovers a game and over 17 points off turnovers.
With the thin lineups due to injuries, turnovers leading to transition have been a killer to the Nugget’s endurance over 48 minutes. Getting rid of the butterfingers will help them keep their own offensive pace up and keep them competing in many more games.
Fans in the Stands
The Nuggets are dead last in the league right now with just over 13,000 fans a game heading to the Pepsi Center.
Of all sports, home court advantage is most important in the NBA. The relatively close quarters feel when all the fans are packed into an arena cheering for a team has a huge impact on games. The players feed of the intensity and thrive in their own environment.
In the mile high city with a built in advantage, having a raucous crowd would go a long ways towards getting these guys pumped up each night and throwing off the opposition. Right now, the arena is a little dead, and I would love to see that place rocking around the Christmas tree.
Thanks again, Santa, for keeping our Christmas wishes in mind. After all we’ve done to be good this year, we think it’s time for a little reward. Good luck with your hectic travel schedule and enjoy the milk and cookies.
Regards,
Nuggets Fans