This summer, the Denver Nuggets signed DeMar DeRozan in free agency. They inked him to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract. But things haven’t been going super well so far. DeRozan has been a pretty big disappointment. But the blame doesn’t just fall on him – it falls on the Nuggets’ depth as a whole.
DeRozan is a team worst, -36 on the season. When he’s been on the court (over 191 total minutes), the Nuggets have lost by 36. That’s brutal. It certainly hasn’t been a great year for the veteran wing. But again, the Nuggets’ biggest problem isn’t DeRozan. It’s simply embodied by DeRozan.
Denver’s depth isn’t good enough. Even though DeRozan hasn’t been playing well, the Nuggets don’t exactly have a perfect option to replace his minutes with.
DeMar DeRozan simplt embodies the Nuggets' depth issues
So far this year, through their first nine games, the Nuggets are 5-4. Needless to say, they aren’t exactly meeting the expectations they have for themselves. They want to be in the hunt for a championship.
The starting lineup and rookie Trevon Brazile have been playing well. Those six players are definitely leading the way. But unfortunately, everybody else has been falling somewhat short of expectations.
Plus/minus is an imperfect stat. There is definitely a lot of nuance that should be paired with it. But if you look at the plus/minus going on in Denver right now, there’s an obvious split.
The starters and Brazile are on one side, and everyone else is losing when they are on the court. It’s not just DeRozan. It’s about every depth player on the Nuggets.
Again, DeRozan is a -36 this season. Tyus Jones is a -33 so far. Bryce Hopkins is a -18. Marvin Bagley III is a -12. That’s the Nuggets’ depth. And they are not living up to expectations.
Nikola Jokic is still playing at a very level. Jamal Murray is playing some of the best basketball of his career. But the Nuggets are still just barely above .500 right now.
There’s obviously plenty of basketball left to be plkayed this season, but the Nuggets aren’t off to a very good start. And a lot of the blame – or at least, attention – is being placed on DeRozan.
DeRozan definitely hasn’t been playing well. That much cannot be ignored. But the Nuggets’ struggles this season cannot wholly be placed on him.
Denver’s depth just hasn’t been good enough. DeRozan is merely a symbol for the Nuggets’ issues behind the starting lineup.
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