Denver Nuggets: 3 reasons Zeke Nnaji can be the backup center
By Carter Frye
Denver Nuggets: Why Zeke Nnaji can be the backup C – Spacing the floor
Zeke Nnaji didn’t come into the league being primarily known only as a stretch big, but he made other teams learn to respect him from deep last season, knocking down 24 of the 59 threes he took during the regular season.
He actually took more threes than twos last year, only putting up 45 field goal attempts from inside the arc. Being able to draw defenders out of the paint due to one’s shooting threat is one of the most valuable skills a big man can have in today’s game, and that’s something Nnaji brings to the table that McGee did not.
As last season progressed, it seemed Nnaji was getting more and more comfortable taking catch-and-shoot shots from deep, and I am excited to see more of that next season as his confidence grows.
Especially in college, one of the Arizona graduate’s favorite shots to take was a mid-range pick-and-pop from 10-16 feet out, where he shot 50 percent from during his rookie year. Nnaji has strong court awareness and seems to be able to fade into just the right spots so his teammates can find him for open looks. I think he and Facundo Campazzo could make a fun pick-and-pop duo to watch out for as a part of the Denver Nuggets bench lineup that will likely be shooting a lot of threes this upcoming season.
