Denver Nuggets: 5 keys to making the playoffs in 2017-18

3. Cut down on turnovers

The Nuggets have one of the league’s premier offenses and it all starts with their spacing and ball movement. When their genuine point-center, Jokic, became the starter, Denver began creating baskets for each other at a better rate than anyone in the league except Golden State.

Unfortunately, when your core is as young as Denver’s is, and your team has knack for making the extra pass, you’re bound to end up with some turnovers. Denver wound up with far too many.

Given Jokic’s noted passing ability and the youth and athleticism in Denver, you might think transition basketball was the team’s bread and butter. It wasn’t. The Nuggets were an exceptional offensive team in the half-court, but their really youth showed when they found themselves on the fast break.

Having a gifted passer as your center creates a ton of opportunities, but when your 22-year-old big man is your best passer, and generally in charge of playmaking duties, the fast breaks can get sloppy.

Jokic is one of the smartest young players in the league right now, but he loves the flashy play. At times, the fancy pass seemed a higher priority than the smart basketball play. Not just for Jokic, but for every Nugget. It led to too many turnovers and a poor transition rating. Only Minnesota turned it over more frequently in transition.

Denver can expect some improvement in the turnover department. While they’re still lacking a point guard with a traditional skill-set, the development of youngsters Jamal Murray and Emmanuel Mudiay may help ease some of the playmaking burden that weighs so heavily on Jokic.

The team also added Millsap, who is considered one of the smarter players in the league and an excellent passer from the forward position. With Millsap’s veteran presence and knack for being in the right place at the right time, perhaps this highly potent but still unstable offense will begin to steady itself.

The turnovers and poor transition play were the only thing that slowed down that offense last year. If they’re consistently winning the turnover battle, they’ll be hard to outscore.