Thanksgiving. Time to be grateful. For Denver Nuggets fans, it’s been a brutal stretch lately, with both injuries and losses piling up like mashed potatoes and stuffing. Nevertheless, it was surprisingly easy to find five things to give thanks about.
Denver Nuggets: Still have a .500 record
At 9-9, the Nuggets are still in a playoff spot. They’re tied with the L.A. Lakers, who have arguably the best NBA player ever in LeBron James. And Anthony Davis. And Russell Westbrook. And Carmelo Anthony. Just you wait until Nikola Jokic gets a supporting cast like that!
Seriously, though, this year is back to the full 82-game schedule and we’re not even at the quarter mark. The Nuggets have the majority of the season to figure out how to adjust to the unexpected picture of life without P.J. Dozier and possibly Michael Porter Jr. for the long haul. It could be harder to recover if these injuries had happened closer to, or during, the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets: Jeff Green is a bargain bin find
The 35-year-old Jeff Green has been in the starting lineup since MPJ went down. With Jokic out as well, the veteran forward upped his season-high the last two games, dropping 25 points against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday. He’s emerged as an on-court leader in his first season with the Nuggets.
You might be prone to question how long an elder statesman can perform at this level, but keep in mind he’s two years younger than Melo.
So far, Green is averaging just less than 10 points per game. Yet he has a career average of 12.8 points per game and averaged 11 last season with a quality Brooklyn Nets team. Green is third on the team in scoring efficiency at 1.310, behind only Jokic and Zeke Nnaji.
Perhaps the brightest part of Green’s contribution is that he’s affordable at $4.5 million per year. For perspective, he comes in at almost half the price of JaMychal Green, who earns $8.2 million per year, and just a little above Facundo Campazzo who makes $3.2 million.
Denver Nuggets: Players are pulling hard for each other
This one, of course, is hard to measure by numbers. Yet the team seems to genuinely battle and pull for each other.
When Dozier went down, the bench sank and teammates later asked for prayers. They felt it. Give credit to Coach Michael Malone for helping focus his team in that moment and beyond. I’ve seen football teams with less injuries than the Nuggets during this early-season adversity.
I love that Jamal Murray, who Malone has dubbed “Coach Murray,” enjoys a regular spot on the bench. And it’s entertaining to watch Jokic still lobbying officials in street clothes.
On the court, there have been moments of miscommunication and hands raised after missed switches and the like. If you look on the bright aside, it shows players who still care deeply and are getting run with a constantly shuffling rotation of teammates.
With the exception of the sluggish outing against the Philadelphia 76ers, the pace can feel too frenzied at times (especially without Jokic). Yet on a team that has suffered one injury after another and could fold, it’s far better seeing players trying to do too much rather than too little.
Denver Nuggets: Young stars on the rise
Quick quiz: Who leads the Nuggets in 3-point shooting percentage?
If you said Bones Hyland, good guess. If you said Zeke Nnaji without Googling, that’s impressive. Nnaji was pick No. 22 in the 2020 NBA Draft. Along with Bones, picked No. 26 this year, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly appears to have hit on both of the Nuggs’ last two first-round draft picks.
Nnaji just returned from an ankle injury in style with 8 points, including 2-4 on three-pointers, along with 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
In Nnaji’s small sample size of 6 games at 10.8 minutes per game, Nnaji is shooting 57.1 percent on 3-pointers (8-14) and ranks second highest on the team at 53.3 percent from the floor (16-30). This big can shoot. Oh, by the way, having played only a year at Arizona, Nnaji is still the youngest on the roster at 20.
Bones is 21. During the 5-game home winning streak in early November, Hyland’s numbers started ascending into the same stratosphere as his energy and charisma. Before injuring his ankle, Bones had already cracked the Top 10 KIA Rookie Ladder and other Top-10 rookie lists.
It ain’t easy landing players with picks in the 20s who produce this early. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to land players in the Top 10. Here’s a sampling of lottery picks from the 2020 draft with Nnaji: Patrick Williams, Killian Hayes, Deni Avidja. What have they done for their teams lately?
Denver Nuggets: Anticipating Jokic’s return from injury
The reigning MVP is coming back soon. It might even be tomorrow night against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks.
The commentators on Tuesday’s TNT broadcast against Portland heard Jokic telling Coach Malone he wanted to play “so badly.” Stan Van Gundy added that it’s lucky the medical staff makes the decisions or Jokic would have probably been on the floor.
So far, Jokic is having a better season than his MVP campaign, particularly stepping up his defensive game as well-illustrated in this piece by my colleague Sean Carroll.
Jokic currently boasts the same scoring average of 26.4 points per game as last season but has upped his rebound average to a career high 13.6 (second in the league) compared to 10.3 last season. HIs shooting percentage is also well above his previous career-high at 59.3 percent. And his 3-point percentage and blocks per game are career highs as well.
By Friday, it will have been two days off and a hearty Thanksgiving meal to help the Nuggets heal. Hopefully, Jokic greets the fans from center court at Ball Arena. Extra thanks would be offered if Bones returns, too.
In the meantime, enjoy your Turkey Day!