Denver Nuggets: Ty Lawson’s Taken A Big Step
The new Denver Nuggets season brings plenty of things to be excited about. The roster is finally healthy, Kenneth Faried just tore up the FIBA World Cup, Arron Afflalo is coming home after good years in Orlando, and the Nuggets’ two new rookies have a lot of promise.
I missed one big thing in that list, though. The first 15 games of the season have proven that I should have been much more excited about Ty Lawson‘s offseason improvement that’s made the Nuggets’ best player even better.
Ty Lawson is HOOPING right now for the Denver Nuggets, and he was the fuel to Denver’s five-game winning streak’s fire. The Nuggets star point guard is averaging a double-double on the season with 16.6 points and 10.0 assists a game. Lawson’s 24 point and 12 assist performance in Cleveland started the Nuggets’ five-game winning streak, and even though it ended in Phoenix on Wednesday night, Lawson continued to shine with 17 points and 12 assists.
Beat writer Chris Dempsey may have put it best when he tweeted, “It’s getting to the point where you can just pencil Ty in for 9 assists every night and then go from there.”
Lawson’s assists numbers have been impressive, as he’s averaging 12.7 a game in the Nuggets’ last six games, but the point guard is also playing great “point guard” basketball. He’s getting teammates involved in the offense early with all the assists, but he’s also getting the Nuggets much needed baskets when the offense goes though a little stagnation.
Throw in Lawson’s 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals a game averages over the last six games, and you see the Nuggets point guard has emerged as the “man” (go-to guy, franchise player, star, call it what you want.)
Lawson has been fun to watch all season, and he’s just been getting better as he gets more familiar with his teammates. Even during the Nuggets’ horrendous first seven games, the former Tar Heel put up 15.8 points and 7.8 assists a game. Now that the Nuggets are playing better, Lawson’s looking to continue his streak of increasing his assist average every season that he has been in the NBA (he averaged 10.0 last year).
Lawson’s current 10.0 assist a game average is the second best average in the league behind Rajon Rondo, but the best news is that Lawson’s progression means the Nuggets found their star. We knew that Lawson was the best player the Nuggets had, but the team desperately needed him to take that next step in order for them to have a legit chance to make the playoffs.
Putting up 17.5 points, 12.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 3.0 rebounds a game equals the next step. Lawson’s play over the last six games has been good enough for the Nuggets to beat good teams, boost them into the playoff picture, and make it an absolute blast to watch them play. Ty Lawson cutting up a defense is a pretty thing on the basketball court.
Now it’s time to see how far the new star can take Denver. Here’s hoping it’s to a lot more five-game winning streaks.