3 reasons why Lance Stephenson doesn’t fit with the Denver Nuggets

Why Lance Stephenson doesn’t fit with the Denver Nuggets: Passing ability

If you watch Denver Nuggets basketball, then you know passing is essential for the team. Nikola Jokic leads the way with his incredible court vision and passing skills. The way the ball moves around the court with Jokic in the game is basketball art, and not every player in the league can understand and produce that concept of basketball.

There are stars in the NBA who prefer isolation plays, such as James Harden or Luka Doncic. Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler tend to slash to the basket and draw more fouls on the opposing team. Each team has its preferred style of play, and for Denver, it’s the passing culture.

Lance Stephenson could find trouble translating his type of athletic defending and shooting to Denver.

First, no knock on Stephenson’s game; he has proven to be a great one-on-one player in the past. He is known as ‘make them dance Lance’ because of his isolation play and dancing on the court. But that type of beat is not needed on the Denver Nuggets.

The starters play through Nikola Jokic, and for the bench unit, Austin Rivers and Facu Compazzo already have the complete skillset to isolate the floor if needed.

Stephenson’s assist numbers over the years are not eye-popping. The most he has averaged in one season is 4.6 assists in 2013-2014. Those numbers could be higher for the time Stephenson was given the ball at the shooting guard position. Every other year Lance has played in the NBA, he has not averaged more than four assists per game.

Bringing Lance Stephenson to Denver wouldn’t elevate our play on the court as much as people think.