The Denver Nuggets were without Paul Millsap for most of the season. As a result, they did not receive a good enough sample size from the four time All Star.
The Denver Nuggets are hoping the front court experiment of Nikola Jokic paired with Paul Millsap will pan out next season.
Millsap missed almost the entire season with a wrist injury, rendering the new front court a mystery going forward. It would be unfair to judge Millsap with the small sample size we got from him this past year.
He was adapting to a new team and scheme along with getting used to playing with a new front court mate who has a pass first mentality. It looked as if things started to finally click for Millsap until the injury occurred in Los Angeles.
After that, the season was pretty much a wash for the veteran. Sure, he came back toward the end. However, you could tell he wasn’t 100% and had to knock the rust off of his jump shot.
Going forward to next season though, he is set to have a bounce back year. Millsap is too talented of a player to not learn and come back from this set back and show why he is considered one of the top power forwards in the league.
Is he aging? Yes, but playing with Nikola Jokic will take the pressure off of him allowing him to be effective in a supporting role.
In a way, it could become a similar narrative as the LaMarcus Aldridge situation with the San Antonio Spurs. Remember, Aldridge had an off year a couple seasons ago. This past season, he re-gained his form and was voted to the All Star team.
When it comes to players of this caliber like Millsap, an off season can make them hungry to bounce back.
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Millsap is set to show why the Nuggets gave him a big contract next year.