Rejoice! The preseason is finally over. That is the main message to get across this week. Analyzing preseason games can lead to false conclusions about certain players and/or teams. Alas, on Tuesday the “real” stuff starts. After opening tipoff, we can start gathering data and information and really start accessing each NBA team and player.
The preseason has almost been worthless for the Denver Nuggets–at least in terms of a fan’s standpoint. New coach Brian Shaw didn’t even play his starting lineup together during these tune up games! Talk about a tease, right? No one knows what to expect of the new look Denver Nuggets, but that’s the fun part. We will have to wait and see. Let’s recap what the Nuggets did last week:
Wednesday, Oct. 23: Phoenix Suns 98, Denver Nuggets 78
MVP: Ty Lawson-9 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds
LVP: Timofey Mozgov– 4 points, 1 rebound, 3 turnovers in 20 minutes
Key Stat: minus-12, that was the Nuggets rebound differential
Nate Watch: Did not play-coaches decision
Recap: This is why I hate preseason: Shaw decided to sit Kenneth Faried, Nate Robinson, Darrell Arthur and Wilson Chandler. That’s half the team! OK, enough ranting. The Nuggets got killed on the boards, but I mean that was expected with the lineup they put out. Two players deserved the LVP. First, Timofey Mozgov. I have high expectation for Mozgov. I am one of the few people out there who thinks he can actually live up to his contract. I can see him developing into a double-digit rebounder this year and a potential double-double guy down the road. The second LVP was Evan Fournier. I am not a huge fan of the plus/minus stat, but Fournier was at minus-24! Talk about a rough night–ouch.
Friday, Oct. 25: Chicago Bulls 94, Denver Nuggets 89
MVP: Anthony Randolph– 15 points and 6 rebounds
LVP: Randy Foye– 2 points, 2 assists, 2 turnovers in 18 minutes
Key Stat: 55%- The Nuggets free throw percentage
Nate Watch: 0 points, 5 assists, 4 turnovers in 25 minutes
Recap: Still little evidence of what to expect come next week. Shaw played 13 guys against the Bulls. Twelve of the 13 played more than 10 minutes. Faried and Chandler sat out with hamstring injuries. Nate Robinson was greeted nicely in Chicago but had a rather rough night–scoring no points in 25 minutes. Other than that, the preseason is finally over!
Next Week:
Real basketball starts! The Nuggets open up their season in Sacramento against the Kings on Wednesday night. They then host Portland on Friday for their home opener.