The Nuggets have a new coach (Mike Malone), and are a team looking to improve on a 30-win season.
In the franchise’s NBA history, just one rookie point guard has started the season opener (1997 Bobby Jackson). Emmanuel Mudiay, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 draft, will be the second.
Jusuf Nurkic had the 4th highest PER among all rookies last season (Mirotic, Clarkson, Noel). Nurkic’s defensive real plus/minus, which measures his on-court impact on the team’s defensive possessions, was 9th in the NBA, best among rookies. Nurkic also led all centers in steals percentage.
Danilo Gallinari averaged 8.2 points per game on 42.7% eFG pct before the All-Star break. After the break, Gallinari averaged 18.6 points per game on 54.6% eFG pct. His increase in points per game was the second-largest in the NBA (min. 10 games before break and after break). Only Ish Smith had a larger increase.
The Nuggets were the worst team in the NBA at defending the post last season. Denver allowed .95 points per play in the post – 4.2% less efficient than the Heat. The Nuggets allowed nearly 200 more points in the post than any other team.
Kenneth Faried has seen his FG and eFG pct decrease in every NBA season. Players assisted on his made field goals at the lowest rate of his career. Part of the reason is his need to dribble in the post. Faried dribbled on 93.6% of his post-up plays, eliminating the possibility of an assist on many of them.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.