The Denver Nuggets got through their five-game preseason with three wins, and the final one - a comfortable victory over the Los Angeles Lakers - at least gave them a cleaner feeling heading into opening week.
Still, the tape left a couple of real issues staring back at them. Denver was efficient enough overall, but two parts of its offensive profile looked shaky in ways the Nuggets can’t afford to carry into the regular season.
The first concern sits where this team built so much of its edge last year: the three-point line. Denver led the league in three-point percentage last season at 39.6%, with 11 players hitting 38% or better from deep.
That kind of shooting helped power the NBA’s best offense. In preseason, though, that burst wasn’t there.
The Nuggets still ranked second in field goal percentage at 49.6%, but they connected on only 35.9% of their threes, which checked in 15th in the league. That’s not a disaster on its own, but it’s a noticeable drop for a group that made a living punishing defenses from outside a year ago.
Part of that slide makes sense. Denver moved on from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Peyton Watson this offseason, and both players shot 40% or better from three last season.
That leaves some expected regression baked in. Even so, with the number of open looks this offense creates, the Nuggets should be doing better than that from deep.
The other problem was even more jarring: the free-throw line. Last season, Denver shot 80.8% from the stripe, good for fifth in the NBA. In preseason, that number crashed to 67.5%, the worst mark in the league over those five games.
That’s the kind of stat that stands out fast, because elite teams can’t spend a full season leaving points there. The Nuggets were efficient enough from the field to keep the overall offense afloat, but if the three-point shooting and free throws both stay below their usual standard, that’s a much tougher path.
For now, the hope is that preseason was just a rough stretch and not a sign of a bigger shift. Denver finished last season top five in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage, and anything close to a meaningful drop there would change the feel of this team. The Nuggets are already viewed as a weaker club entering the new season, so getting those efficiencies back to form may be what keeps them in the mix.
In Other News...
Marvin Bagley May Have Given Nuggets An Answer Behind Jokic
Marvin Bagley III had a preseason finale that gave Denver plenty to think about behind Nikola Jokic. In the matchup with the Lakers, the veteran big man looked comfortable off the bench, providing a mix of scoring and activity that stood out in a reserve role the Nuggets have been trying to shore up.
Bagley showed he can finish inside, stretch the floor a bit and bring real juice on the defensive end, where his athleticism showed up in the paint and in the passing lanes. For a Denver team that needs a dependable backup center, that kind of all-around burst is exactly the sort of answer it has been searching for, even if the true test still has to come when the games count. [Read more 🡒]
Ex-Nuggets Champ Bruce Brown Still Has A Knicks Twist Ahead
Bruce Browns latest stop with the Knicks turned into a short stay, even after New York brought the veteran in for training camp with a chance to earn a roster spot. The only hurdle was procedural but significant: the team needed to move a player already on the books in order to keep him, and that deal never came together before the season began.
For now, Brown is on the outside looking in, but the door is not completely closed. Once contracts become prorated later in the season, New York could circle back and revisit the fit, leaving open the possibility of a reunion if the roster and finances line up in December. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Get A Needed Spencer Jones Update Before The Opener
Spencer Jones appears to be trending in the right direction just in time for the Nuggets season to begin, a welcome development for a team trying to get through the final stretch of camp with as few health concerns as possible. The forward had been dealing with a hamstring strain, and the latest word is that he is expected to be available when Denver opens the regular season.
Jones situation fits into a wider run of early injury news around the league, with several teams sorting through their own concerns before opening night. The Wizards have AJ Dybantsa day-to-day with an ankle sprain, the Suns are waiting on Luke Kennard after a knee tendon strain, and the Heat expect Bam Adebayo and Pelle Larsson to be ready for their opener, while the Magic are managing injuries for Franz Wagner and Noah Penda as they head toward theirs. For Denver, getting Jones back on track matters because every healthy body counts as the rotation starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]