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Denver Nuggets: Joffrey Lauvergne Ready To Start At Center

By Gerald Bourguet

Oct 8, 2015; Boulder, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Joffrey Lauvergne (77) shoots the ball during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at Coors Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2015; Boulder, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Joffrey Lauvergne (77) shoots the ball during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at Coors Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite a busy offseason consisting of re-signing their own free agents, the Denver Nuggets are working to build a foundation for the future on the shoulders of second-year center Jusuf Nurkic and the newly drafted Emmanuel Mudiay.

But until Nurkic is ready to return after offseason knee surgery, it appears that backup Joffrey Lauvergne is ready to step into a starting role.

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A quick look at his stat line through the Nuggets’ first three preseason games tells the basic story: this 24-year-old Frenchman can be an efficient scorer who has fully taken advantage of his opportunity.

In three preseason games (two starts), King Joff is averaging 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He’s also shooting an insane 76 percent from the floor (19-of-25), which ranks fourth in the league among players who have played at least 45 minutes so far, trailing only DeAndre Jordan, Jared Cunningham and teammate Nikola Jokic, per NBA.com.

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However, the difference between Joff and his competition has been stark (get it, Game of Thrones fans?). While Hickson was the starter for the preseason opener, going for two points on 1-of-7 shooting, Lauvergne was the Nuggets’ best player in that contest, notching a 16-11 double-double in 25 minutes off the bench.

Jokic has been extremely efficient from the field in limited minutes, but he’s nowhere near the rebounder that Lauvergne is. It’s also worth mentioning that the 6’11” Lauvergne brings a skill to the table that Jokic doesn’t bring and one that Hickson thinks he brings, but actually doesn’t: perimeter shooting.

So far in the preseason, Lauvergne is 2-for-4 from downtown and has knocked down five of his seven attempts from outside the painted area. As you can see from his shot chart, Joff loves operating from that left side of the floor, where’s he’s been extremely efficient.

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Joffrey Lauvergne’s shot chart through the Denver Nuggets’ first three preseason games, via NBA.com/stats /

In comparison, Hickson has bricked eight of his nine shot attempts in two appearances, and the only shot he made was right at the basket. Jokic, meanwhile, has rarely strayed from beyond the paint, though he has knocked down both of his jumpers from just above the free throw line.

These are small sample sizes we’re dealing with here, but at this point, there’s no question about who should be starting in place of the injured Jusuf Nurkic.

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    • Preseason numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt, but Joff has done all he can this offseason to put himself in this position to impress. Not only has he been a revelation as a preseason starter, but he’s also coming off an impressive performance at EuroBasket 2015.

    Team France may have disappointed as a team, but Lauvergne averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game over his nine EuroBasket games, shooting 60.4 percent inside the arc and knocking down five of his 10 three-point attempts.

    At NBA Summer League, Joffrey was just as impressive, posting 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game on 56.3 percent shooting. He only made one of his six three-point attempts, but he was quite obviously one of the Nuggets’ best players then as well.

    In his first NBA season last year, Lauvergne was basically an afterthought. He only played in 24 games for the Nuggets, averaging 3.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game. But if he continues on this eye-opening track, Lauvergne may soon be competing with a healthy Nurkic for playing time.

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