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Nuggets Film Room: How Paul Millsap’s post play helps Denver

By Tom West

DENVER, CO - JULY 13: The Denver Nuggets Introduce Paul Millsap during a press conference on July 13, 2017 at the Montbello Recreation Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JULY 13: The Denver Nuggets Introduce Paul Millsap during a press conference on July 13, 2017 at the Montbello Recreation Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Here’s the second episode of Nuggets Film Room, a summer series to break down specific elements of the Denver Nuggets. This time, how Paul Millsap works in the post.

After breaking down Gary Harris’ great cutting ability a few days ago, I’ve decided to begin an analytical series on the Denver Nuggets as we wait for the 2017-18 NBA season to begin. It’s going to be a long wait, and with free agency coming to a close and little going on in the basketball world (at least Derrick Rose’s free agency is… something), why not dive into some film, look at the strengths and weaknesses of the team and its players, and see what we can expect next season?

I knew all you fans would love the thought of some Nugget nerdiness to get you through the dull days of the summer (well, I hope you do).

So, after starting with Harris, let’s move onto the blockbuster acquisition of four-time All-Star Paul Millsap. Specifically, his excellent post play, and exactly how that can help Denver and fit in their offense.

On his way to averaging a career-high 18.1 points per game last season, operating from the post was an important part of Millsap’s game. It’s not his most frequent scoring tool, but it’s a useful one nonetheless. Even though post play is losing value in today’s NBA and Millsap’s ability to space the floor from three-point range, attack off the dribble, get to the free throw line and face up opponents are more appealing, post-ups are still effective when they’re used selectively by the right players.

Millsap is one of them. He averaged 3.2 points per game off post-ups last season and scored one point per possessions on such plays, good enough to rank him in the 83rd percentile, per NBA.com. That’s not too far behind his elite teammate Nikola Jokic, whose elite efficiency landed him in the 94th percentile.

Millsap may only be 6’8″, but he has a brilliant combination of strength, soft touch and skill to finish at the rim and adjust his body past opponents. Look at this post score on Russell Westbrook, for example. Millsap capitalizing off mismatches like this is something Denver will enjoy, as he can finish over smaller players with his soft touch, rather than trying to get overly physical and resorting to awkward bully ball (Millsap has shot 64.6 percent within three feet of the basket for his career and is a reliable target for these short range baskets):

From a little further out, Millsap is just as effective. He made 47.5 percent of his shots between 10-16 feet last season, per Basketball-Reference.com, and can bury turning step-backs like this to create separation for his shot further up the lane:

Millsap is also terrific at facing up his opponents and driving before putting his shoulder to them, using a variety of finishes to score around the basket:

In addition to Millsap’s scoring from the post, it’s his ability as a passer to draw double teams and find the open shooter or hit a cutter on time that helps him fit well in the Nuggets’ fluid, movement-filled offense (his passing is something we’ll get onto in more detail soon).

While the Nuggets already have Jokic to score in the post when they need a basket, having another target in Millsap is only a good thing. When Millsap can find mismatches against smaller players in the post or he’s set up with deep positioning, look for Jokic to feed him the ball right on time. When the Nuggets need someone to create a basket and don’t want to become too predictable with Jokic, Millsap helps there as well. He isn’t the shooter that Danilo Gallinari is, but Millsap can still score in a variety of ways and get to the free throw line at a high rate.

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Despite Millsap being 32 years old, he’s still arguably a top-30 player and his offensive game clearly works at a high level. To help him be at his best, joining the Nuggets’ elite offense will be a fantastic change for him. After playing in Atlanta’s 27th-ranked offense that had plenty of issues and spacing troubles with Dwight Howard at center, Millsap can join Denver, a team that led the NBA in offensive rating once Jokic became the starter on December 15 and offers far superior ball movement and spacing at every position. With defenses stretched out around him, Millsap will only have more space to score from the post and drive to the basket as he does so well.

Next: Analyzing Denver's Summer League performance

If you’re a Nuggets fan and you weren’t too familiar with Millsap, you can see how talented he is through the eye test and the numbers that support his efficiency. While defense may be his calling card and his excellent versatility is how he’ll help Denver the most, his post scoring is one of the weapons in his offensive arsenal that will help him be a major positive all around.

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