The Denver Nuggets are quietly putting together a great season in an NBA where the narrative is almost you have to have at least 3 legit stars to even challenge for a playoff spot. Not to mention that they are in the Western Conference which is by far the superior conference in the NBA. If Denver was in the Eastern Conference they would probably be challenging Boston and Cleveland for the top spot in the conference. Emanuel Mudiay was suppose to be the next Russell Westbrook, a high tempo, fast guard, who can penetrate the paint, and then through his ability to see the court can make the people around him better. Sadly for Nuggets fans that didn't happen. During his time here it became more and more apparent that the hopes we had were never going to pan out. He failed to get a better 3 point shot, and his position was taken from him by Jamal Murray who is everything we thought Mudiay would be, and therefore made Mudiay a bench player. To his credit he worked his tail off coming off the bench, and showed great character in that he didn't start talking to the media, or creating issues in the locker room.
Devin Harris is who they got in return, and with him they have something they have needed all year which is a veteran point guard, who doesn't make too many turnovers, and can score pretty consistently from beyond the arc. What Denver has now might not be a team that has 2 to 3 super stars, but they are a team that can go 10 deep and create match up problems with just about any team in the NBA. They have been playing better than .500 basketball, and they are doing it without their star in Paul Milsap. Can they go star for star with teams like Golden State, or Houston? The answer is obviously no, but what they can do is create match up problems for any team in the NBA, and with the roster as it is currently constructed can play an up tempo, or go into a half court offense where they can take advantage of their match ups. Their starting line up with Jamal Murray at point guard, Gary Harris at shooting guard, Wilson Chandler at small forward, Paul Milsap at power forward, and Nikola Jokic at center is a very strong starting line up. Our back court is probably one of the most underrated back courts in the NBA as both Harris and Murray can hit the outside shot, but both of them also play pretty good defense. I will say it now on record but Gary Harris is one of, if not the most underrated shooting guards in the NBA. Night in and night out he shows he is a two way player, and he is capable of scoring against anyone, anytime, anywhere. The back court is solid, but what about the front court? Wilson Chandler is a borderline 6'10 player who can guard all 5 positions on the floor, but has the offensive capability to create match up issues with players that are smaller than he is. He can hit the 3 pointer, drive the lane, and isn't afraid to get physical when he has too. Moving on to power forward and Paul Milsap, he is a power forward who has the ball skills of a small forward, and the ability to rebound and play defense as good or better than any other power forward in the game. I remember when he played for Utah he use to be the thorn in the Nuggets side. He is equally as effective in an up tempo offense as he is in a half court offense that inevitably happens in the playoffs. Finally we get to the man in the middle, and literal center piece of the franchise in Nikola Jokic. We have never had a big man in Denver with his capabilities. He can rebound, block shots, and could be the best shooting center in the NBA from both mid range and beyond the arc. What makes him even more special is his on court vision, and ability to make the special pass to create easy buckets for his teammates. He is a special player, and a center piece we can build around.
What makes our team special is our bench, and that will be what drives us to a playoff run. With guys like Will Barton, Mason Plumlee, and what is probably the biggest surprise of the year Trey Lyles coming off the bench opposing teams do not get a "break" when our starters come out. To say Lyles has been a pleasant surprise is an understatement. Lyles is a 6'10 forward who can play the small forward, power forward, or center position off the bench, plays tough defense, and has a very underrated outside shot. Then you add in the point guard we just traded for in Devin Harris, and he is the compliment to the high pace, run and gun back court we have with Gary Harris and Murray. Harris is a veteran who also has a ability from behind the arc, can get the other players involved, but he is not the defensive liability that Mudiay was. From there you add in guys like Richard Jefferson, Kenneth Faried, Juan Hernangmoez, and two guys who have really been nice surprises in Torrey Craig and Malik Beasley, and you can start to see how Denver's depth will be an issue for teams in the playoffs. When other teams shorten their bench Denver has the ability go deep into their bench to run teams out of the gym. It is an exciting time to be a Nuggets fan, and it will be fun to see what they can do for the rest of the year when the get Milsap back, and they begin to make their run into the playoffs.
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