Denver Nuggets: 3 things to watch for on opening night
By Sean Carroll
Denver Nuggets: Can Michael Porter Jr. make a statement?
Michael Porter Jr. was incredible this past season following the Jamal Murray injury. I’m not going to list his stats because we’ve written about it ad nauseum on Nugg Love and I’ll do you favor of not copy-pasting it anymore.
What we’re really interested in is if he can do it in the 2021-22 season. Can MPJ carry over his hot shooting and be a reliable second option for the entire season? He recently signed a maximum extension with some bonuses if he’s able to become an All-Star or All-NBA player.
One major concern with the MPJ contract extension was that the Suns series exposed him. Not only was he dealing with back issues that kept him out or limited at the end of the series, but he was also getting picked apart when he was in there.
The back is a concern since it was enough of a concern for one pre-draft doctor to say he’d never play a game of basketball again. If it’s flaring up, who knows what that means, but he looks healthy in preseason and training camp.
Chris Paul spent much of that series getting the ball to MPJ’s man or even taking him off the dribble himself. It was an excellent display of CP3’s point guard play, but it exposed a huge weakness in the Denver Nuggets defense.
MPJ will have opening night to not only show what he can do as the permanent second option, but he’ll almost definitely be attacked on defense and he’ll have the opportunity to show his strides in that area.
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