The Nuggets broke down their goal of getting to the playoffs this season to one very important component part on Monday during their annual Media Day: Staying dialed-in all season long.
“We have to have a little more maturity, guys are going to have to sacrifice, and the sense of urgency needs to be there as close to 82 games as possible,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Because… (not making it last season) wasn’t just the Minnesota game; it was the loss against Phoenix at home, it was the loss at Memphis, it was the loss against Atlanta at home. … I think our guys understand that.”
In essence, the Nuggets are looking for consistency in, well, being consistent. During his press conference on Monday morning, Malone mentioned the Nuggets were .500 on the season after wins. The Nuggets did not have a winning streak longer than three games until a flurry of victories at the end of last season nearly got them into the playoffs.
Guard Will Barton said he watched the final game of last season “a couple of times this summer. Just to motivate myself and come back stronger this year and make sure we’re not even in that situation this year.”
Playoffs are heavy on the Nuggets’ minds, and with good reason. This team has improved in each of the last three seasons. Their 46 wins last season was the most since racking up 57 wins in 2012-13. Players like star center Nikola Jokić, Barton, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris have all improved.
“We’ve been knocking on the door the last couple of years,” said Barton, who moves into a starting role this season at small forward. “Last year, very close. Lost in the play-in game. So now, come back, we’re at full strength. You add a piece like (guard Isaiah Thomas), everyone has grown and matured. It’s only right to go in that direction. Got to get in the playoffs. That’s just the bottom line.”
Thomas, however, will not participate in training camp as he continues to rehab from arthroscopic hip surgery in the spring. There is no timetable for his return, said Nuggets president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly.
Also continuing to rehab injuries are rookie forwards Michael Porter Jr. and Jarred Vanderbilt. There is no timetable for their return, either, Connelly said.
But Paul Millsap, last summer’s prized free agent signing, is back and fully healthy after a summer of getting his injured left wrist back to strength.
“My wrist is 100 percent,” Millsap said.
The Nuggets enter this week’s training camp in San Diego at San Diego State University with their starting lineup already intact – Murray and Harris at the guards, Barton and Millsap at the forwards, and Jokić at center. There is a bevy of young players eager to provide depth, including forwards Trey Lyles and Torrey Craig and guards Monte Morris and Malik Beasley. The competition for minutes resides with the reserves.
All, however, are taking the court this week with playoffs in mind, but not skipping the details in order to get there.
“It was hard to watch the playoffs, especially in the beginning,” Harris said. “But…I think everything happens for a reason, and I think that’s what’s going to make us a better team – especially going into this year. We can’t drop certain games; we’ve got to win the games we’re supposed to win. We can’t have those mental lapses that we had at points last year where it doesn’t seem like it’s going to come back to haunt you, but in essence it ends up haunting you in the last game of the year. So, I think it’s going to help with our mental, our focus.”
Christopher Dempsey: christopher.dempsey@altitude.tv and @chrisadempsey on Twitter.