The Nuggets are about to enter their longest home stretch of the season, which sounds like an apt time to release the latest mailbag! There were plenty of questions about Michael Porter Jr.'s role along with some thoughts about the recent struggles on offense. Without further ado, here are some responses to your questions: All opinions and ideas expressed below are our own and do not reflect any views of the Denver Nuggets’ front office and coaching staff.
Michael Malone's approach with Porter Jr. should look familiar to long-time Nuggets fans as he's successfully developed the team's core with a similar mindset. The head coach has stated in the past his regret of rushing a prospect like Emmanuel Mudiay before he was ready for a big role and since that period he's brought along other rookies slowly. For example, Monte Morris and Malik Beasley played a combined 190 minutes in their rookie seasons and Jamal Murray only started 10 games in his first year in Denver. Nikola Jokić was a role player before blossoming into the All-NBA First Team center he is today. The point is Malone has fostered an environment where his young talents are groomed to fit into his philosophy and Porter Jr. is no different. That said, Malone has recently said he'd like to find opportunities to incorporate the former Mizzou star in the rotation and Porter Jr. has played in three of the Nuggets' last four games. The key for Porter Jr. will be consistently being a positive presence while on the court. In Boston, he was a bright spot in an otherwise tough 108-95 loss to the Celtics. However, in Philadelphia, Porter Jr. was given an opportunity to impact the game early on and looked very much like a rookie as he was a -9 and shot 2-of-7. Porter Jr.'s talent is obvious, but he is still learning the nuances of playing at the professional level. His time will come.
The fine folks at ALTITUDE recently released a video with responses to the same question. Enjoy the video below:
I don't think players are choosing to take difficult shots, but the team's overall ball movement isn't as crisp as it was last season. Denver had the No. 7-rated offense in the NBA (112.1), largely because it was second in the league in assists (27.4) and assisted points (66.5). This season, those numbers are down across the board as the Nuggets are sixth in assists (26.2) and 10th in assisted points (64.4). Although it might appear to be a small dropoff, it also signals a slight change in approach by Denver on offense. The team is passing 13 times less a game for example. Fortunately for Denver, there are still 60 games left in the season to work on getting back to where it was last season. Nikola Jerenic on Facebook writes: Well this is not NBA question, but you guys have a lot of Serbia supporters and you are loved over here.. So, my question is basically; What you think about Serbian fans? The Nuggets love y'all, keep showing love to the team! Хвала вам!