Paul Millsap’s elite defense will make a huge difference for the Denver Nuggets next season, and has drawn a ton of praise from head coach Michael Malone.
The Denver Nuggets desperately needed to improve their defense through NBA free agency this summer. They ranked 29th in defensive rating last season and stood no hope of improving significantly without addressing that weakness, no matter how unstoppable their offense is. Even though their young players can develop and improve their defensive IQ and positioning, it’s safe to say help was needed.
Head coach Michael Malone couldn’t have hoped for a better addition than Paul Millsap, an All-Star the team have coveted for a long time. While Millsap is a highly skilled offensive player with sound scoring ability and good passing, it’s his versatile (and elite) defense that sets him apart from so many others. There aren’t too many players that are easier to fit onto any team in the league than Millsap, partly thanks to his ability to switch across four positions, communicate, and make an impact in so many areas of the game, even when he isn’t scoring. There are plenty of reasons he ranked 14th in Defensive Real Plus/Minus last season.
It’s no surprise that the Nuggets have had high praise for Millsap’s defense, and coach Malone in particular has expressed how valuable Millsap’s defensive impact and experience will be, per NBA.com’s Christopher Dempsey:
"“From an experience standpoint, and the fact that he’s a guy that I think will be able to communicate and help us on the defensive end, kind of be an anchor to our defense, a traffic cop and kind of orchestrate where guys are supposed to be. He’s a guy that embraces the challenge. When you want to improve defensively it starts with each individual taking on the responsibility of saying ‘I’m going to own my matchup tonight.’ I think Paul does that. His IQ and experience alone are going to help us tremendously.”"
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
On top of Millsap doing so much by himself and staying in the right spots, it’s his ability to communicate, lead and direct others that will be huge for the Nuggets’ young defense. Even if players can’t lockdown their guy on the ball, making good rotations, helping on time and not giving up open threes and backdoor cuts will make a massive difference.
Then, of course, there’s Millsap’s importance in helping out Nikola Jokic. In addition to all the switching and communication, Millsap’s ability to guard at the perimeter is so valuable next to the flat-footed nature and poor lateral quickness of Jokic. Jokic can’t stick with fast guards and wings at the perimeter and has issues with the pick-and-roll that he can’t really avoid, so Millsap’s presence inside and fantastic help defense will make a serious impact, even though he can’t solve all the rim protection issues by himself.
Next: Breaking down what Millsap brings to the Nuggets
Malone’s life is easier now that he has an All-Star defensive quarterback on the floor in Paul Millsap. As the Nuggets’ defense improves next season, you can expect to see them come away with a fair share of extra wins because of it.