Denver Nuggets: Gary Harris Is Eating Up Randy Foye’s Minutes

Through the first four games of the season, the Denver Nuggets are looking great despite their ho-hum 2-2 record. Why? Because head coach Michael Malone has got something that neither of Denver’s last two head coaches had: a proper grip on who needs to be playing and who needs to be sitting.

In the preseason, we saw Malone give J.J. Hickson very little playing time while moving Joffrey Lauvergne, a second-year power forward who appears to be on the rise, into the starting lineup. Hickson started the Nuggets’ most recent game against the Los Angeles Lakers, but that was only because King Joff and Nikola Jokic were both sidelined with lower back strains.

Aside from that 25-minute outing for Hickson, Malone had limited him to a grand total of three minutes and one appearance over the team’s first three games.

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But Hickson isn’t the only veteran player who’s wisely being phased out of the rotation. Despite starting 78 games for Denver in 2013-14 and playing 50 games for the team last season, even with injuries and all the turmoil at the head coach position, Foye has been relegated to full bench duty under Malone.

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Foye’s play hasn’t responded well to the demotion, with the 10-year veteran averaging a meager 3.0 points in a career-low 14.8 minutes per game. Luckily, Foye’s appalling shooting — 23.8 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from three-point range — has made Malone’s decision to limit his minutes impossible to question.

For a team that’s probably not competing for a playoff spot this year, rookie Emmanuel Mudiay isn’t the only youngster who’s getting his chance to prove himself while being thrown into the fire of being an NBA starter. Malone has also moved second-year guard Gary Harris into the starting rotation, and though he hasn’t lit up the scoreboard by any means, he’s shown plenty of promise.

As a rookie, Harris had a bit of an up-and-down season, struggling to earn minutes between two different head coaches. He averaged 3.8 points and 1.2 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game, shooting an uninspiring 30.4 percent from the floor and 20.4 percent from three-point territory.

Harris’ numbers thus far in 2015-16 won’t have him in the Most Improved Player of the Year conversation, but he’s still posting an improved 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 24.0 minutes per game. He’s still not an “efficient” player, but his 40.7 field goal percentage and 33.3 three-point percentage are steps in the right direction (in an admittedly small sample size).

Though he’s not lighting up the scoring column, Harris has been getting better in pretty much every game. In Denver’s latest contest against the Lakers, he put up 11 points in 22 minutes while going 5-for-9 from the floor.

That needs to be taken with a grain of salt considering Los Angeles is the worst defense in the league, but still: With Foye mightily struggling to hit shots and the 21-year-old Harris representing the future that needs extensive playing time to develop, it’s been encouraging to see Malone give him a longer leash.

There’s also the fact that Harris is already a far better defender than Foye to consider.

A quick look at defensive ratings would give you the incorrect assumption that Foye (100.3 D-rating) is actually more helpful to the Nuggets’ defense than Harris (104.8 D-rating). But the numbers are skewed by Harris’ larger share of minutes and shots defended, and when you factor in the eye test, it becomes readily apparent how much more committed Harris is on that end.

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According to NBA.com, opponents are shooting 14 percent better on shots when defended by Foye, as opposed to only 3.4 percent better when Harris is hounding them. The problem with Harris is he’s a little undersized at 6’4″ and still needs to get stronger, which is why opponents are scoring more effectively the closer they get to the basket against him.

However, Harris has been a bullish perimeter defender, holding opponents to 11 percent worse shooting on three-point attempts — as opposed to Foye, who might as well be actively trying to help his man score, since opponents are shooting a staggering 27.1 percent better on three-pointers when guarded by him.

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Harris is not a perfect defender, and his mediocre shooting only looks so good because Foye couldn’t hit traffic if he ran down the freeway right now. The Nuggets have been outscored by 7.0 points per 100 possessions with Harris on the floor, which is only a slight step up from the 7.5 points per 100 possessions they’ve been outscored by with Foye in the lineup.

But who needs numbers and facts when a picture is worth 1,000 words? If you need an illustration between the defense of Gary Harris and Randy Foye, look no further than James Harden — who was held to 6-of-21 shooting against Denver — being pestered by the Nuggets’ second-year guard:

That looks like the perfect image to encapsulate Harden’s frustrating season debut. And yet, when Harris wasn’t around, the Beard suddenly looked more like the MVP candidate he is.

Just compare the image above to the look of pure jubilation on Harden’s face when he was defended by Randy Foye. It happened that fast:

THE EVIDENCE SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.

The 2015-16 season might be rough for the Denver Nuggets in the win-loss column, but at least their head coach is allocating minutes to the right players…with the team’s brighter, long-term future in mind.