A rude awakening greeted the Denver Nuggets and fans at Ball Arena Thursday night. The seemingly depleted Philadelphia 76ers delivered a 103-89 underdog punchout to make Rocky proud.
Without Joel Embiid, Danny Green and Ben Simmons, the sweet sound of swishes from Sixers guards Tyrese Maxey and Seth Curry stood in high relief against the clangers the Nuggets tossed against the rim.
Was the resounding loss just an off-night shooting for the Nuggs or does it highlight the team’s glaring Achilles heel — a lack of sharpshooters?
On a night many expected the Nuggets to get right after the loss to the Mavs on Monday, only Nikola Jokic and Will Barton, the Nuggs’ two best players this season, could deliver from deep.
As with the game against the Mavs when Barton didn’t play, Jokic tried to superhero through the rest of the team’s shooting woes in the first half. This time, at least, he had Barton pitching in. It just couldn’t outlast a 76ers team that shot better than 50% from the floor and ganged up inside on Jokic in the second half.
For the game, Jokic and Barton shot 17-31 FG (54.8 percent) including 7-10 on 3-pointers (70 percent), while the rest of the team shot 15-58 FG (25.8 percent) including 5-26 on 3-pointers (19.2 percent).
Nobody besides Jokic and Barton had a good night shooting and players who’d recently been a strength off the bench offered almost nothing, including Bones Hyland, Facundo Campazzo, P.J. Dozier, and Jeff Green. They were 0-14 shooting, scoring four points total on free throws.
Was it an aberration? A strong case can be made this was just a horrendous night in which the team pressed on their shots after falling behind a team they outclassed on paper. The Nuggets shot well during the 5-game streak on the home stand, which included stellar bench play.
Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again. If the Nuggs can bounce back quickly, meaning a win tonight against the Chicago Bulls who they’ve beaten 9 times in a row, the shooting nightmare might be forgotten.
Yet Chicago has started strong. And if the Nuggets shooting woes weren’t an aberration, then what?
We know Jamal Murray (career 44.6 percent FG and 36.7 percent 3-pt FG) isn’t coming back until spring-ish or later.
Here are three options for solving the shooting woes in a hurry.
Nuggets Shooting Solution: Speedy Recovery for Michael Porter Jr.
Michael Porter Jr. is by far the best hope for an outside shooting presence on the current Nuggets roster. MPJ’s lower back problems likely were dogging him all season. He was shooting 35.9 FG percent and 20.8 percent 3-pt FG compared to 54.2 percent FG and 44.5 percent 3-pt FG last season. If he can come back within the next few weeks, the problem might be solved quickly enough to avoid losing too much ground in the standings.
Nuggets Shooting Solution: Sign SG Nik Stauskas from G League
Through four games with the Rapids City Gold, Nik Stauskas, the former NBA Top-10 pick, has averaged 23.3 ppg, shooting 45.9 percent FG and 40.5 percent 3-pt FG.
Coach Michael Malone has already shown a willingness to call on the Gold’s roster, suiting up C Petr Cornelie to fill the absence of Zeke Nnaji. Stauskas could be an emergency measure until MPJ rejoins the team. And that’s one of the reasons to have a G League team.
Nuggets Shooting Solution: Trade for a Proven Veteran
While it might be too early to panic and make a trade for a shooter because of injuries, it’s never too early to start considering trade possibilities. One scenario would be offering deep reserves Bol Bol or even Zeke Nnaji for an established shooter. Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes, Houston’s Eric Gordon and San Antonio’ Bryn Forbes are all on teams who might be out of playoff contention early and willing to part with veterans for players with potential. Luke Kennard is another possibility if the L.A. Clippers are willing to part with a role player off the bench.
The Nuggets desperately need outside shooting to open things up in the middle. Jokic literally wears the battle scars on his arms and back from being doubled and tripled when risking time in the paint. Coach Malone’s ejection Thursday night certainly had to do with the officials, but it likely also stemmed from the frustration that nobody but Barton could help out a guy putting up MVP numbers again.
The upcoming opponents aren’t getting easier. After the Bulls, it’s Phoenix, Portland (presumably with Damien Lillard back), Milwaukee, and Miami. Milwaukee is the only home game.
The Nuggs need an answer on the outside in a hurry.