The number one thing the Denver Nuggets have to prepare for when it comes to the upcoming 2021-22 campaign—which begins in earnest on 19 Oct., back on its natural start date for the first time since 2019, is the absence of one Jamal Murray.
Murray is Denver’s second-best player by a long shot, but after suffering an ACL tear on 12 Apr. in a game against the Golden State Warriors, the Canadian is dealing with an injury that typically warrants a recovery time of about a year. That leaves the Nuggets without their starting point guard and a huge hole in their backcourt.
Last year, the lion’s share of those starts went to Facundo Campazzo, a jittery 30-year-old rookie out of Argentina. Campazzo is a fan-favorite, and for good reason, what with his against-all-odds story, but his limitations as a player became all too evident during that four-game sweep at the hands of the Phoenix Suns in the second round.
The guy that should be running the point in the Blue Arrow’s stead is instead the guy who’s had the reins of the second unit in the Rockies for some time now, fourth-year guard Monte Morris.
Morris is a great floor general, a solid passer, and, most importantly given Murray’s primary skillset, the guy can flat out hoop.
While not the same threat as Murray, Morris is a very solid scorer at all three levels, which would really help lighten the scoring load of reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
The Joker was run ragged during the 2021 playoffs as he attempted to do it all for a team lacking other credible scoring threats. Morris can be that guy—they did go 10-4 when Morris started last season—but we’d like him a lot more for that starting role if he could make three key improvements to his game.
Denver Nuggets’ Monte Morris Improvement #1: Strap up on defense
It’s no secret that the Denver Nuggets have had issues defending their opponents over the past few years, but they actually haven’t been as bad as you might think. They were 16th in defensive rating two seasons ago, but moved on up to 11th last season with a 111.5 defensive rating.
However, the Nuggets’ defense fell apart in the playoffs—despite the acquisition of defensive stopper Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline—with their defensive rating jumping to 122.1, worst among teams that made it out of the first round.
That had a lot to do with the presence of Campazzo and Austin Rivers in the starting backcourt rather than Murray and P.J. Dozier, who was also out with an injury. Dozier is probably Denver’s best defensive player and is definitely going to push Will Barton for the right to start at the two during this campaign.
Though Campazzo seems like a solid defender what with all of his movement and energy, his diminutive stature (5’10”) just isn’t sustainable for a starting NBA guard—with a few notable exceptions, such as Isaiah Thomas and Muggsy Bogues, among others. The size becomes an even bigger issue when you’re a less-than-gifted scorer, like Campazzo.
Morris, on the other hand, is a much lengthier 6’3″ with a wingspan a couple of inches longer. Monte has never been known as a strong defender, and while he is long, he cuts a very slender frame, which is not ideal for defending.
At the end of the day, however, Morris is built like an NBA player with the athleticism that goes along with it—it’s clear as day when the Iowa State alumnus is on the other end—which means that if he puts in more effort and plays with more determination and a bit of a chip on his shoulder on D, he should be able to go from a minus to an even on that end, maybe even a slight plus.
Morris ranked near the bottom of every hustle category for the Nuggets last season: 11th in deflections, 12th in contested shots per game, ninth in loose balls recovered per game, and ninth in charges drawn per game. He was also in the bottom half of the NBA in terms of defensive win shares.
From those numbers, it’s clear to see that if the 26-year-old can simply expend more energy on that end, he will become a much better defender.
To improve in all of those categories, Morris needs to dedicate himself to training and improving his fitness so he can work harder at strapping up, study more film to develop insight on his opponent’s tendencies, and just straight-up show a little more dog when he’s defending.
As a kid from Grand Rapids who went to school in Flint, was drafted in the second round and had to earn his NBA spot after spending time in the G-League, there’s no doubt that “Man-Man”, as his mother, Lationa, calls him, has more than enough fight in him to become a contributor on defense.
Denver Nuggets’ Monte Morris Improvement #2: Fill up his bag
What I mean by this is that while Morris is a three-level scorer with a pretty varied offensive package already, there are definitely a few spots where the Denver Nuggets PG is lacking and could stand to improve.
Morris is excellent on dribble drives but was also quietly one of the most efficient pick-and-roll ball handlers in the NBA last season, putting up 1.03 points per possession, good for a tie for seventh in the league along with the likes of Kyrie Irving, Mike Conley, and Jordan Clarkson. Pretty good company, no?
Morris can create his own shot and make plays for others as well, but there are certain spots on the floor that gave the Grand Rapids native nightmares last season.
The most surprising number you’ll come across when perusing Morris’ shooting splits from this past season is that while he shot a solid 38 percent from deep, he did so while building a whole neighborhood with the bricks he was putting up from the corners, where he shot just 27.5 percent.
Now, as the guy who usually has the ball in his hands, Morris is not usually camped out in the corners, which is why he only took 40 corner threes all season, compared to 92 from above the break.
So I guess it wasn’t a neighborhood he built with those bricks, but more like a little bungalow.
But still, he was mostly running the second unit last season, which means he wasn’t playing next to that passing whiz from Serbia. If he gets the starting gig, Morris will be playing big minutes next to Jokic, and despite his stature, the big man likes to run the offense, so Morris will need to be ready to move more without the ball and possibly camp out in the corner from time to time.
The corner three is considered the most efficient shot in basketball apart from the dunk because it’s nearly two full feet closer to the net than a three-pointer from above the break. It’s all about repetition from that spot, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble for Morris to become a more reliable shooter from those pockets.
The other area in which he must improve is his paint scoring outside the restricted area, where he had an ugly 36.4 success rate last season. In the restricted area, he’s money, but it’s those short to midrange touch shots, push shots, and floaters that were giving Morris trouble last season.
It was Morris’ third-favorite zone to shoot from, however, so it’s clearly a big part of his game. Those shots are not the most efficient, but if they make up part of Morris’ scoring DNA, he’s got to work on those and get that percentage up closer to the more acceptable 45 to 50 range.
Denver Nuggets’ Monte Morris Improvement #3: Find your rhythm
The third and final improvement that Morris needs to make this season to take the next step is to find his rhythm and show the coaching staff that he can play with more consistency than he showed last season, especially in the playoffs.
As we’ve mentioned, Morris is a bonafide hooper who can score from all over the floor while creating open looks both for himself and his Denver Nuggets comrades. The only thing is, his powers waxed and waned quite considerably from night to night last year.
While he was third in scoring among Nuggets that played in all 10 playoff games with 13.7 points a night, the standard deviation on his scoring was bonkers.
He started the postseason off with back-to-back efficient games, scoring 10 and 12 points. He followed that up with a stinker in Game 3 where he went 2-for-6 and scored eight points before bouncing back with 12 in the next contest. In Games 5 and 6, Morris put up a combined 50 points to close out the Blazers.
Then he crashed back down to earth with a 2-for-17 shooting performance over the first two games of the next series before booting back up and averaging 20 points on 59 percent shooting over the final two games of their sweep at the hands of the Suns.
If for some reason you wanted to raise your blood pressure in late May-early June, betting on a Monte Morris scoring prop would have surely gotten you there.
But it wasn’t just in the playoffs: Morris failed to score in double-digits in just under 40 percent of his appearances last season, a mark which needs to plummet. The percentage was relatively similar in games that Morris started last season as well, so whether in the starting five or off the bench, that lack of consistency is something Morris needs to clean up.
The young man plays with a poise that would suggest the experience of a veteran—he’s led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of the past two seasons, and was second the year before that—but the 26-year-old is still very young and has yet to scratch his ceiling. With Murray out, this is an opportunity Morris can’t afford not to snatch up.