The Nuggets have a DeMar DeRozan problem, and it’s showing up in the numbers fast.
Denver brought him in as a free agent to stabilize the bench scoring, and on the surface that part is there. He’s the team’s leading scorer off the bench.
But the bigger picture has been rough. When DeRozan is on the floor, Denver’s offense has taken a major hit, and the fit has looked far shakier than anyone wanted.
The defensive side is no mystery. DeRozan was expected to be a liability there, and that has played out, especially when he shares the court with backup point guard Tyus Jones.
Per Databallr, the Nuggets are allowing 117.1 points per 100 possessions with DeRozan on the court. That’s not the kind of number that travels well.
The offensive drop is even more alarming. Denver is at a 124.5 offensive rating when DeRozan sits over 143 minutes.
In 150 minutes with him on the court, that number falls all the way to 106. That kind of swing can wreck a team’s rhythm in a hurry.
As Jovan Buha said on The Game Theory podcast with Sam Vecenie, DeRozan’s fit has been “abysmal.”
Part of the concern was always going to be spacing. DeRozan lives in the midrange, and Nikola Jokic operates in the same general real estate.
But the issue has gone beyond the expected awkwardness. Through the first six games, Denver has slipped from last season’s No. 1 offense, when it posted a 121.2 offensive rating, to 16th at 112.6.
That’s a jarring fall for a team that has been a top-seven offense for 10 straight seasons. And right now, even Jokic’s elite feel for the game doesn’t seem to be solving the puzzle. The two have been on the court together for 89 minutes, and Denver’s offensive rating in those minutes is 107.1.
So the Nuggets are left with a clear task: find a lineup that actually works. They can’t keep parking DeRozan in the midrange next to Jokic and expecting clean offense to follow.
DeRozan can score, no question. But if he’s drawing attention in the same space as Jokic, with defenders crowding the paint and no three-point threat around them, the floor gets cramped in a hurry.
One adjustment that hasn’t happened yet is giving DeRozan a look at backup point guard. That needs to be on the table.
Head coach David Adelman should pair him with Cameron Johnson and Trevon Brazile to open up the floor, while Jokic or Marvin Bagley III can work around the nail or the elbow. That would at least give DeRozan a chance to function as a distributor instead of forcing him into a role that keeps squeezing Denver’s offense.
Yes, there was always going to be an adjustment period for DeRozan as he comes off the bench for the first time in his career. But this can’t be left entirely to the players to sort out on the fly. The coaching staff has to start engineering a fix, too.
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