No, you didn’t miraculously travel back in time and wake up on Thursday back in 2014. However, there will be a familiar face returning to the Mile High City, with the Denver Nuggets having acquired big man JaVale McGee through a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Long-time Nuggets fans are aware of McGee from his previous stint in Denver, which lasted parts of four seasons. McGee has always impressed with his athleticism and shot-blocking capabilities, as he owns a career average of 1.5 blocks per game (which jumped to 1.8 per game across 121 games as a Nugget).
McGee then went on to bounce around throughout the league before landing with the Golden State Warriors for two seasons, where he became a two-time NBA champion. Following that run, McGee joined the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played a rotation role on another championship team.
Following an offseason trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, McGee now re-joins a contending team that should receive a boost from his play in the frontcourt.
Denver’s struggles defending the paint have been well-chronicled this season. While the Nuggets have a deep rotation at the power forward position, minutes at backup center have been hard to come by this season at times, paving the way for the 33-year-old McGee to step right in.
Let’s take a closer look at what McGee will add to this Nuggets squad.
Rim protection
Perhaps no aspect of this addition is more important than McGee’s ability to defend the rim. Long known as an impressive shot blocker, McGee made a significant impact on Cleveland’s defense when on the floor this season.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Cavaliers’ defense was 3.3 points per 100 possessions better with McGee on the floor, and his impact was most seen around the rim. When McGee was on the floor this season, opponents shot 8.2 percent worse from within four feet of the rim, per Cleaning the Glass.
When looking further at the numbers, McGee was turning in one of the better rim protection seasons in the league so far this year. Per NBA.com, opponents shot just 47.4 percent at the rim when McGee was the primary defender, the lowest in the league among players who have defended at least 100 shots this season.
Denver still ranks 30th in the league in opponent field-goal percentage around the rim this season (68.7 percent), so having McGee out there for some rotation minutes will certainly help Denver’s interior defense.
With averages of 1.2 blocks per game this season (2.9 per-36 minutes), McGee is a quality rim protector in a limited role, which is an area where Denver’s defense needed an upgrade.
Rim running, vertical threat on offense
On the offensive end, McGee won’t have the opportunity to explore his range in terms of shot selection as he had done at times this season in Cleveland.
In Denver, the three-time NBA champion will likely be asked to set screens and run to the rim regularly, to serve as a vertical lob threat that Denver has also missed this season following the departure of Mason Plumlee.
Although McGee’s dunks are down this season (just 16.3 percent of his total field-goal attempts, down from his career average of 30.7 percent of shot attempts), he can still get up for some alley-oops and add some vertical spacing to Denver’s second-unit offense.
Given that one of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., or Will Barton III will likely be on the floor alongside McGee at any time, the veteran big man can just focus on setting screens, running the floor in transition, and positioning himself around the rim for easy cleanup opportunities or alley-oops.
The majority of the value that McGee brings to this Nuggets squad is on the defensive end of the floor. Although he will most likely not be counted on to play heavy minutes moving forward this season, Denver now has a legitimate rim protector to use in spurts, something that should sharpen at least one area of the team’s defense.