Denver Nuggets: Where to attack the Portland Trail Blazers on offense

Where the Denver Nuggets can attack on offense: Carmelo Anthony

I might’ve been too hard on my “swings between disinterest and apathy” comment on Melo before, he is a former Denver Nugget, after all, I should be nice.

Or I could not.

When he’s on the court, opponents make 5.8 more points per 100 possessions than when he sits, good for the tenth percentile among forwards in the league per Cleaning the Glass. He has a 115.8 defensive rating when he plays according to NBA.com’s official stats and for every minute he’s on, opponents score exactly one point in the paint (I thought that was neat).

In the past, Melo’s defense hasn’t mattered too much since he was the alpha on offense, and his contributions on that end more than make up for any mistakes or misgivings on the defense. As a role player in his 17th season, not so much.

Similar to when Kanter is on the court, Denver should be targeting Melo at every opportunity when he’s playing. Targeting him could be putting him on an island against MPJ or Jokic one-on-one or forcing him to help away from shooters, or posting up Jokic with Melo as the strong side defender.

But how often will the Nuggets be able to target Melo and friends?

If you’re trying to project the Blazers’ playoff rotation, last season is a good facsimile. Against the Los Angeles Lakers in their five-game loss, the Melo averaged 35.6 minutes per game, Hassan Whiteside (then backup center) played 21.2 and Anfernee Simons played 20.5.

Let’s assume a lot of Melo’s minutes will be taken away and given to their offseason acquisition Robert Covington, he still found time to average 24.5 minutes this season next to a crowded frontcourt.

There’s going to be time, just like in the Kanter section, when these guys will have to play. Denver, eat your heart out.