While the Nuggets drastically improved their roster across the board this offseason, one area has quietly become a bit more of a concern, and that’s rebounding. For all of MPJ’s flaws on both ends of the floor, he was an excellent rebounder for his position. He used his 6’10” long frame and his relative athleticism to his advantage and had a good knack for finding the ball.
He has quietly averaged 7 rebounds a game the past two seasons, and last year he contributed almost two a night on the offensive end alone. Mike has gotten very good at taking advantage of his space. He was often only loosely guarded, given the other offensive threats for the Nuggets.
This allowed him to have either a size or speed advantage over his defender most of the time, and he would often creep his way toward the rim and pick out an open spot where he could attack any potential rebound. It was a great skill, one that was severely underrated, and a crucial element for Denver on both sides of the ball.
Rebounding may be a massive issue for Nuggets
Nikola Jokic is obviously a tremendous rebounder, but now the Nuggets don’t have many other advantages down low in the starting lineup. Aaron Gordon averaged under 5 rebounds per game last season, which is a very low figure for a power forward. He is going to have to step it up with MPJ out of the picture.
I still maintain that Cam Johnson is a big overall upgrade over Porter Jr., but not on the glass, where he averaged just 4.3 per game last season, and under 4 for his career. Christian Braun and Jamal Murray can’t be expected to do the heavy lifting down low, so it’s clear this is going to take a total team effort.
Everyone is going to have to make a commitment to crashing the glass because no matter how efficient the Nuggets’ offense is, and how good the defense plays, if they can’t secure the boards, they are going to have a tough time winning meaningful games.
Young Nuggets are going to have to step up their rebounding
Denver can get help down low from their young, athletic up-and-comers this season. Braun is a very good rebounder for his position and can possibly even take another leap. Peyton Watson and DaRon Holmes are both guys who should be able to come off the bench and snatch boards as well.
Again, this situation isn’t going to suddenly get fixed by one guy, but it does show the impact of Porter Jr.’s departure in a way that isn’t being talked about much. I’m willing to bet on the personnel to understand what needs to be done and make sure this doesn’t sink them, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on.