1 Thing Nuggets can do to alleviate biggest weakness

This Nuggets team has come together in a nice way and they’ve overcome a disappointing offseason to leave themselves with a competitive roster going into the season. It’s far from perfect, but they’ve kept the core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. intact and complemented them with a bevy of young and aging role players.

They’ve done enough to be in the mix to contend in the Western Conference. But they are going to need some players to step up and they are going to need some luck to swing in their favor. This year is going to be a big test for Michael Malone as he’ll finally be forced to play the young players and get creative with his rotations and lineup combinations.

Nuggets' biggest weakness is lack of 3-point shooting

One thing that he’ll definitely have to overcome is the team’s biggest weakness; lack of three-point shooting. This was an issue that plagued the Nuggets last season, and with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Justin Holiday, and Reggie Jackson leaving, it’s only going to get worse.

They need to find a way to take and make more threes or the math will be working against them. While Nikola Jokic doesn’t shoot threes at a volume, he can easily generate good looks for his teammates at any time. They need to maximize this potential by pairing the right players together on the court.

The Nuggets can unleash Russell Westbrook as a big man

One major way that Malone can attack this issue is by using his new bench toy, Russell Westbrook as much like a big man as a guard. Throughout his career, RWB has been a superstar point guard, but he’s become a dreadful volume shooter.

Luckily, he does have plenty of strengths, including his aggressive and physical play, his athleticism, and his ability to cut, finish around the rim, create free throws, and rebound the ball. Many of those skills aren’t what you’d usually expect from a point guard, but that’s part of Westbrook’s allure.

If Russ is in the game as a point guard, unless he’s surrounded by four shooters (that won’t be easy given the Denver roster) it’s going to make the spacing extremely stodgy and make it hard to open up driving lanes are get seperation for shooters. Defenses will pack the paint and basically dare Russ to start chucking - not something the Nuggets want.

But if they use Russ as a big man on offense he can operate out of the dunker spot and focus on screening, cutting, and finishing close to the hoop. This is the best way to unleash Russ and with his passing skills, he can be a great short roll man, kicking out to open shooters.

It’s a bit unconventional for sure, but the Nuggets also have the benefit of employing an iconic point center in Jokic. It won’t be easy and it won’t always look natural, but if Malone is willing to get creative and operate outside of his comfort zone, he can unlock some major advantages for the Nuggets this season.