Denver Nuggets: Turnovers and “soft” play stifled offense
Denver Nuggets: How did the guard rotation look against Cleveland?
Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland
Bones Hyland was one of the few bright spots on the night as he shines in his debut. During his ten minutes, he was 3-5 from the field, came away with a steal, two assists, and was a +3 during his time on the court.
He showed off his high-level scoring from all over the court, putting the ball on the floor and even showing off an ability to create for his teammates.
The first bucket of his NBA career was very impressive; he took the ball on a dribble hand-off, turned the corner, got downhill, and rose up when he got to his spot before the free-throw line. On the very next play, he got an open 3-point look that he drained from a pair of amazing passes from Campazzo and Austin Rivers.
I was very impressed with how comfortable he seemed against the NBA pace, especially with his ball-handling and ensuring his passes were crisp and on time. He did a lot of little things right, whether it was his positioning as an off-ball defender or running the floor hard. Hyland will make Malone’s life a bit more difficult as he begins to find his rotations.
His quick scoring gave the Nuggets a bit of life as Jokic sat, however, I don’t think he’s his most effective when he is paired with two undersized guards and two-hybrid forwards to run a small-ball lineup. I think his best lineup will come as he is paired with Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Campazzo. This allows them to still switch most pick-and-roll situations and has two high-level athletes to come over as a help defender and the MVP to protect the paint.
I am truly excited to watch him develop and get more minutes within the Nuggets system. If he can become half of the defender Austin Rivers is, he has a chance to move Morris down the rotation and become the starting two-guard or maybe the point guard next to Will Barton.
In his rookie season, his more natural position to be the sixth man since the Nuggets have a plethora of solid guards off the bench.
Facundo Campazzo
Facundo is quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch on a nightly basis. The energy he possesses and brings to the team is palpable.
While he didn’t shoot the ball efficiently, he was good at creating for his teammates in the second unit. I love watching him manipulate ball screens and turn the corner and create easy looks for the rolling big or an open shooter by picking apart the defense.
His pestering defense made life hell for the quick and inexperienced backcourt of the Cavaliers, as he had his way with most of them by sliding his feet and beating them to the spot much as he did against Chris Paul in the first game of the season.
Campazzo showed a little bit of dog in him as well, getting chippy and in the face of fellow FIBA standout, Ricky Rubio. He was getting underneath his skin all night by out-hustling him to loose balls and getting underneath him when he played with a live dribble.
He has to become a more efficient shooter off the dribble, especially in the midrange. The team looks to have little direction tonight, and if he would have shot the ball more and put pressure on the defense a bit more things could have opened for the Nuggets.
With his great chemistry with Jokic and the rest of the team, I think he should be the starting point guard going forward. When Jamal Murray is able to come back, he should slide back to leading the bench. He is more mature and better defensively than Monte Morris and should be leading the team and controlling the offense with the Joker.
Will Barton
Will Barton has done his job well to start the season, taking care of their opponents’ better offensive guard for most of the time. In his 31 minutes, he shot 5-9 from the field but only 1-4 from deep. He seemed a bit hesitant against the Cavaliers.
He did have one bright spot ending the third quarter in which he attacked Mobley in the full court and drew his fourth foul on him and finished the layup. It seemed to give the team momentum; however, it was not enough to push them over the edge.
He struggled with turnovers as did most of the team, but it seemed to be because he was out of control. In the full court, there were instances in which he was running coast-to-coast, got into the paint, and passed back out beyond the arc, and killed their chance to get an easy bucket on the break. It almost seemed like he was second-guessing his chances at the rim against the oversized Cavaliers team.
His hesitancy was not only evident in the full court, but in the half as well. He didn’t use ball screens well, especially with Jokic. I would like to see him work on turning the corner hard and threatening to attack the rim and force the defense to collapse. It will allow Jokic to pop out if the big man comes to contest or find another shooter on the backside of the defense.
Monte Morris
Morris struggled in his 27 minutes tonight mostly as the lead point guard. He only shot the ball four times, and only one 3-point opportunity.
While he’s known for his ability to slash and create from his drive and kick ability, I am still worried about his overall hesitancy with the ball in his hands.
Morris has been up and down with his shooting, especially beyond the arc in the first week of the season. While he doesn’t necessarily need to be a sniper, he needs to be willing to take the shots and put pressure on the defense at all three levels to space the floor efficiently with Jokic on the floor.
Morris showed a decent ability to defend Collin Sexton, he matched his speed and used his body to bump him from his spots. At times he gets crushed by screens and can get lost trying to find his rotation on the defensive end of the floor. If he wishes to continue starting, he will have to continue to defend at a high level but also become a more confident offensive weapon.