Denver Nuggets Fantasy: Implications From Preseason Opener

Preseason Disappointments: Gary Harris and Kenneth Faried

From a fantasy standpoint, both Harris and Faried had miserable performances.

Gary Harris

Harris only scored six points, and failed to log a single assist, rebound, block, or steal. He did turn the ball over once though, and also committed a couple fouls. To be fair, Harris did only play for 10 minutes. In that respect, his scoring outlook is not too bad. The third year guard shot 2/3 FG% and 2/2 FT%. Interestingly, Harris didn’t attempt a single three, which creates his biggest fantasy concern.

Harris needs to shoot more, and start knocking down threes if he is to be a worthy fantasy draft pick in any respect. His rebounding and assist numbers are too consistently low to be a more well-rounded contributor, though he usually manages a couple steals. Hopefully, the next preseason game will show much more of Harris. He needs to take (and make) more shots. This starts with getting his fair amount of court-time.

Kenneth Faried

Faried on the other hand was just plain off. He managed to log 20 minutes, which isn’t too far off from his typical per-game average, but his stats were lackluster in every category. He only scored 5 points, with 5 rebounds, and turned the ball over once.

Faried was simply unproductive. To be fair, the spotlight was shining on Jusuf Nurkic, whose increased role saw more Jokic at PF than Faried.

But still, the Manimal has some serious making up to do before he becomes a smart fantasy draft pick. He is still a player worth drafting, but should not be on anyone’s priority list. Unless he bounces back in big fashion, keep him as a late round pick-up option.