Denver Nuggets: Season review, Kenneth Faried

The Denver Nuggets’, Kenneth Faried, had one of his hardest seasons ever.

The Denver Nuggets hid the fan favorite, Kenneth Faried, on the bench for most of the season. While it is understandable his minutes would take a hit with the arrival of the four time All Star, Paul Millsap, Coach Malone took the benching to a whole new level.

Faried barely saw any time on the floor this season and as a result, his stats took a major hit. Even when the Nuggets were blowing out an opponent or needed some energy on the glass, Malone refused to insert the “Manimal,” into the lineup.

According to basketball reference, Faried’s numbers from this past season do not do him justice compared to his career averages. Many seem to forget, Faried would finish in the top 25 in terms of field goal percentage in NBA history if he were to retire today.

Faried only averaged 14.4 minutes per game this season and had a total average of 4.8 per game. What is good to see is he still had an offensive rating of 116 despite his limited amount of play this season.

Faried also possessed  a total rebound percentage of 18.7% along with a true shooting percentage of 55.2%. Faried is still a fan favorite in the Mile High city. If Malone refuses to play him, he deserves a fair chance on a different team where he can get adequate minutes.

I am not saying I want him gone because I dislike him, I simply want what is best for him due to everything he has done for this Denver Nuggets franchise. Especially if the team can find a suitor in the Eastern Conference for him.

The Nuggets have a hustle player buried on the bench. It is time to figure out how they want to utilize him. Faried showed why he is the “Manimal,” in the short amount of time he played this season.

He showed great energy and continued to endear himself to the Denver Nuggets faithful.

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Let’s hope he can get some playing time next year whether it is here or on another team.