Much has been said about the Nuggets’ young core, especially when it comes to the playoffs.
With the No. 2-seeded Denver facing a No. 7 San Antonio team that has made the postseason for 22 consecutive years, there are plenty of media outlets who believe the Nuggets could be heading for an early exit. But can youthful ignorance actually be a blessing in disguise for the Denver?
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and his team certainly hope so.
“We have a lot of guys who have zero playoff experience, but sometimes I think there’s something [positive] to that.” Malone said on March 31 before later adding. “Sometimes that youthful inexperience is great because they don’t know what they don’t know. That’s how we’re going to approach it.”
This isn’t the first time Malone has worked with a young team heading into the playoffs.
He was also an assistant under Mark Jackson when the Warriors ended a postseason drought to return the playoffs in 2013. Back then, otherworldly stars like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were just starting to come into their own in their mid-20s and were ironically facing a heavily-favored No. 3 Nuggets team. Malone fondly remembers that team’s exuberance and swagger as it defied all expectations to knock out Denver. That team would follow up that feat by giving the No. 2 Spurs all it could handle before bowing out after six games.
Paul Millsap, a battle-tested playoff veteran with the Atlanta Hawks and the Utah Jazz, had a similar point of view as Malone.
“I don’t think the younger guys know what’s been accomplished this year so far. We want to keep that a secret until after the season,” the power forward said with a grin. “It could be a [positive]. You get out there and you’re excited. You don’t know what to expect and you learn on the fly. That could be good.”
The Nuggets’ young core made significant strides this season as Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Malik Beasley and Monte Morris all saw their stats improve from last season. And that’s not even including two-way threat Gary Harris, who battled injuries throughout the year. He showed encouraging signs in the team’s last three games, averaging 15.6 points in that stretch. All the mentioned players are making their playoff debuts, but if they play at their best, the Nuggets should match expectations as a No. 2 seed. However, the team will need to avoid some of the inconsistent play it showed in March and April.
Prior to the All-Star break, the Nuggets were eighth in the NBA in field goal percentage, shooting 47.3 percent. After the break, the team struggled with its shooting, hitting 45.2 percent of its shots, which was 21st in the league. If there is one thing well-known about Gregg Popovich, its that the Spurs coach won’t allow the team to beat itself.
Will Barton, who has also played in the postseason with the Trail Blazers, acknowledged the challenges of being a young team in the playoffs.
“You can’t say [youth is] an advantage because everyone is going to be energized and ready to go,” Barton explained to Nuggets.com. “Younger guys, older guys. We just got to be ready to play.”
In the last game between these two sides, the Nuggets showed what they were capable of with a dominant 113-85 victory on April 3. Denver shot 54 percent while containing San Antonio on that evening. If the Nuggets can move past any potential playoff jitters and carry those performances into the first round, it should bode well.
Kawhi Leonard’s exit last offseason changed the Spurs’ identity on defense. When the small forward was at his best in San Antonio, the team was second in the league in points allowed during the 2015-16 season (98.1). The team is currently 12th at 110.5 points per game and struggles to guard midrange shots as it sits 29th in opponent midrange field goal percentage (43.2), according to Cleaning the Glass.
It is a combination of those factors that have allowed Jokić and Murray to thrive against the Spurs in the regular season. Murray is averaging 19.8 points and 6.0 assists against San Antonio, while Jokić shot 69.5 percent against the team and averaged 16.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists. Morris -- one of the team’s breakout performers this season -- can’t wait to see what this team is capable of in this postseason.
“I don’t know what to expect, [but] being young, I’m sure it can play a factor,” Morris said. “To be young, fast and play athletic, I’m sure teams wouldn’t want to play against that down the stretch with guys being tired.”