Recapping the 2021-22 season for the Denver Nuggets

Recapping the 2021-22 season for the Denver Nuggets: Identifying the issues for an injury-riddled roster

The problem with pushing as hard as possible for the playoffs is that the rest of the league would like to do that too, it’s not very easy. Yes, Nikola Jokic is incredible and adds an extremely high floor to the roster, but you need a solid roster to be one of the best eight teams in a conference.

Making matters worse, the Denver Nuggets eventually lost P.J. Dozier and Markus Howard to season-ending injuries. So the depth chart took a major hit and Michael Malone had to find an NBA rotation with what he had available to him.

Davon Reed was signed to a Two-Way contract early in the season and he brought some defense and veteran leadership, but the Nuggets needed a perimeter creator and more shooting. At the time, Facundo Campazzo and Austin Rivers weren’t providing it.

I kind of feel bad for Campazzo. His roster spot was eventually usurped by Bones Hyland (more on that later) but if it wasn’t Malone who was upset with his production, Nuggets Twitter definitely was. I haven’t seen that kind of animosity towards a player since… last season with the New York Knicks and Elfrid Payton.

This asked more questions of Tim Connelly, who was dealing with a team hovering around .500. Should he make some trades before the deadline and upgrade the roster or should he hold onto his assets until next season?

All the reports were that the Denver Nuggets front office was happy to make a move to upgrade the roster. Whether that meant moving on from young players or draft capital, the Nuggets wanted to get better.

There were even some rumors of a first-round pick being in the mix for a more permanent solution on the wing, but Denver eventually settled for a minor three-way deal that netted them Bryn Forbes. The price was a second-round pick, Bol Bol, and P.J. Dozier. It was a shame to see P.J. go but he was out for the season and likely wasn’t contributing to the 2022-23 season.

After the deadline, the Nuggets signed DeMarcus Cousins who helped push everyone back into place: Zeke Nnaji could focus on shooting, not protecting the rim, Barton can work more on-ball, and Forbes could be the sole movement shooter on the wing.

Personally, I was skeptical. I now know I’m wrong, but I didn’t love the acquisitions. My thought process was solely focused on 2022-23 and Denver’s first title.

As a free agent this offseason, Forbes was a question mark for next season. Boogie was good in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform but was it really worth giving up a roster spot for half a season, and the Nuggets still hadn’t found a fifth starter, a wing stopper for next season.

Well, maybe that’s still something to consider, but the Denver Nuggets were three games over .500 at the time of the Forbes trade and it looked like they might be Play-In bound. Fast-forward to today and the Nuggets are 47-33 and they have the inside track to avoiding the Play-In Tournament.