Three Big Questions for the Nuggets Before the Season Starts
How will Jokic and Millsap fit? Who’s the starting point guard? Can this team defend consistently enough to earn a playoff spot in the loaded West?

This offseason, the Nuggets finally made a big splash in free agency. After years of striking out on big-name free agents from Dwayne Wade to CP3, the Nuggets signed All-Star forward Paul Millsap to an incredibly team friendly, two-year $60 million dollar contract, with a team option for the third year. It was incredible that a team with so little leverage was able to coax Millsap into signing such an incredible contract. Now it’s time to compete, and I have three questions:
How do Jokic and Millsap play together?
It’s no secret that Nikola Jokic is a full-fledged cornerstone for the Nuggets. After the Joker was inserted into the starting lineup, the Nuggets had the highest offensive rating in the entire NBA(!). He completely transformed the Nuggets offense into a beautiful motion system with his transcendent playmaking ability and incredible unselfishness.
After Paul Millsap was traded from Utah, both his production and efficiency skyrocketed. When he was paired with a high IQ big who could make plays at an elite level and stretch the floor passably, his full skill set was unleashed. The former Bulldog was able to tap into his natural ability to score in unorthodox ways inside and out, while consistently making the extra pass. His unselfish style of play and near-elite scoring ability should contribute to an incredible pairing with Jokic.
Who is the starting PG on opening night?
The Nuggets enter the season with Emmanuel Mudiay, who is entering a do-or-die season, Jamal Murray, but what position is he REALLY, and the corpse of Jameer Nelson at point guard. Let’s start with the superbly athletic, yet mind-bogglingly inefficient Emmanuel Mudiay. He’s the epitome of the argument against potential in terms of the draft. Since he’s entered the league, his jump shot has been inconsistent at best and despite having every conceivable tool, has been terrible finishing at the rim. Here’s his shot chart from this year:

He’s been almost comically inefficient from every spot on the floor, and it gets even more damning when looking at his corner 3% which is abysmal compared to league average. His defense has also been atrocious (career 112.3 D-Rating) and his decision-making is shaky (1.76 A/TO Ratio in 2017). It’s a little harsh but at times it’s hard to see what value is to this Nuggets team.
Now let’s move onto the other no. 7 pick on the team, Jamal Murray. The combo-guard who suffered through two sports hernias in 2017, yet still showed a ton of promise as a scorer, albeit inconsistently. Coming out of Kentucky, he was known as a prolific scorer and decent playmaker whose ceiling would be determined by how well he could play point. Depending on who you ask, he could either be the next Steph Curry or the next Isaiah Canaan. Where he really has to improve at this point is as a shot creator as his first step is just average and he’s not all too creative off the bounce. However, I expect Jamal to win the starting job by the end of the year.
The other one is the 36-year-old Jameer Nelson whose usefulness on the NBA court at this point depends on how much you value overweight point guards who don’t shoot 3s particularly well.
Can this team defend well enough consistently to contend for a playoff spot in a loaded West?
For all the fun offense is, this teams ceiling will ultimately come down to their ability to defend. This past year, their PnR defensive strategy was baffling at best, with guards dying on screens and sagging the big, allowing the ball handler to hit an open pull-up shot. There were defensive liabilities all over the roster from guards who were unable to stop a nosebleed to bigs who either didn’t have the defensive intelligence or the athletic ability to protect the rim at an acceptable level. However, this is where the addition of Paul Millsap will make a big impact. Over his Atlanta tenure, he posted an elite defensive rating of 100 while making plays like this:
His ability to be an average defender switching on the PnR combined with his ability as a rim protector, elevated him to the no. 6 ranking on the ESPN DRPM leaderboard for PFs. Although there is no stat that can really account for defense, he is just behind elite company in Draymond Green and Anthony Davis. His defensive acumen will be critical working with the least athletic player in NBA history, aka Nikola Jokic.
Overall, Millsaps overall impact should elevate the from fringe playoff team, to a possible 6 seed, given the contributions offensively and perhaps more important, defensively. The combination of an elite offense and average defense should be enough to elevate this team to a playoff spot even in a loaded Western Conference.
