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2014-15: What to Watch For

By Cody Wise

The start of each new season is a time to begin fresh with a clean slate while looking forward to the immediate future and the task that lies ahead. Entering the 2014-15 season, the Nuggets have many bright spots and additions that are bound to make this team compete in a very tough Western Conference.

Although there will be numerous things to look for throughout the season, here is our initial list of what to watch for:

Addition of Afflalo adds to an already sharpshooting backcourt: Randy Foye had a year for the record books in 2013-14. Foye knocked down 189 three point field goals ranking second in Nuggets franchise history for most three point field goals made in a season. If you were to just take last year’s numbers of Foye and combine them with Arron Afflalo’s 128 made threes for the Orlando Magic, the total of 317 would have ranked fifth in the Western Conference in combined makes between two teammates.

Lawson climbing the record boards: Ty Lawson enters the 2014-15 season ranked ninth in franchise history with 333 three pointers, just 23 behind Voshon Lenard for eighth all-time and 38 behind Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf for seventh. If Ty is able to make 93-plus three’s this season, he will jump up the board and take over fifth place, passing Nick Van Exel.

Lawson also begins the season sixth all-time in franchise history with 2,025 assists. He needs just 22 more dimes to move into fifth place. If the guard is able to dish out 156 assists this season, which shouldn’t be a problem since he has amassed 1,044 over the last two years, he will jump Michael Adams and move into fourth place.

Mozgov looks to pick up right where he left off: Timofey Mozgov made positive improvements throughout the season last year and he is looking to continue that trend. In the month of April, Mozgov was a monster in the middle, averaging 15.9 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 56.1% from the field in eight games. A small sample size? Yes. However, these improved numbers are very encouraging. Also, don’t forget about his big game at Golden State on April 10th, when he recorded 23 points (10-15 FG’s) and grabbed 29 rebounds, becoming the first Nuggets player EVER to have 23+ points and 29+ rebounds in the same game.

Faried’s summer of gold: While most players take well deserved vacations and relax after a long season, that was not the case for Kenneth Faried. After several preliminary training camp sessions in Las Vegas, Faried was selected to be part of the USA Men’s National Team for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. Playing alongside some of the best young talent in the NBA, the Manimal proved why his skill set was so necessary in pursuit of a gold medal. Faried averaged 12.4 points (third on team USA) while leading the team in rebounding (7.8) and field goal percentage (63%). The once in a lifetime experience will only add to the confidence and energy that Faried brings on a nightly basis.

Young talent and fresh faces: After having zero rookies in 2013-14, the Nuggets have added three fresh faces for present and future plans. Erick Green, Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic all join the team as newcomers for 2014-15.

Erick Green begins 2014-15 with the Nuggets after spending last season playing overseas for Montepaschi Siena in Italy. Green, who was acquired by the Nuggets on draft night in 2013, averaged 11.3 points and 1.2 assists in 64 games for Montepaschi. Erick played his college ball at Virginia Tech from 2009-13. During his senior season, he led the nation in scoring with an average of 25.0 points per game while shooting 47.5% from the field.

Harris, who was the 19th overall pick in the 2014 draft, joins the Nuggets after two seasons at Michigan State. The guard started 67-of-69 games during his Michigan State career, totaling 1,025 career points to become just the third Spartan to break the 1,000-point mark in just two seasons (joining Mike Robinson and Magic Johnson). Harris averaged 16.7 points and 4.0 rebounds during his sophomore campaign, earning him a spot on the 2014 All-Big Ten first team.

Last but not least, is Jusuf Nurkic who comes to Denver from Bosnia and Herzegovina after being drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Nurkic, who just turned 20 years old in August, played with Cedevita Zagreb in 2013-14 and averaged 10.9 points 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 16.3 minutes per game. Nurkic, like Faried, also had a summer of gold. He represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2014 Under-20 European Championships. In the tournament he averaged 21.4 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.6 blocks on his way to the MVP and gold medal.

Power in numbers: The Nuggets bench was a huge factor during the 2013-14 season. Denver’s reserves ranked fourth in the NBA in points per game (38.5) and first in rebounds per game (17.3).

If you take a look at the players that are projected to make up the Nuggets bench this season, they have combined to play in a total of 2,652 career games in the NBA. Take that number and compare it to the total number of career games played by last year’s starters of each team in the Northwest Division and it would look like this:
2,598 for Oklahoma City Thunder; 1,938 for Portland Trail Blazers; 1,859 for Minnesota Timberwolves; 1,067 for Utah Jazz. This is a great indicator of how experienced this bench unit is and how the Nuggets really do have power in numbers in 2014-15.