Denver Nuggets: 3 candidates for a breakout season in 2018-19

As the Denver Nuggets look to return to the NBA playoffs, they have several young players on their roster with the potential to break out in 2018-19.

When you are a team that has a core of players age 23 or younger, there is certainly a lot of breakout potential. For the Denver Nuggets, that is the case heading into the 2018-19 NBA season, one in which the team is expected to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

Headlined by Nikola Jokic (who is beyond “breakout” seasons at this point), the Nuggets have a young and dynamic backcourt and several young bench pieces that could emerge with increased opportunities and expected development.

While Denver also has some veterans on the team (mainly Will Barton, Paul Millsap, Isaiah Thomas and Mason Plumlee), the team’s success in the upcoming season will depend on the development and potential emergence of its young core, specifically in the backcourt.

While the Nuggets’ best players are all not in their primes yet, they have serious expectations of playing playoff basketball this season, putting pressure on the young guards to step up and play at their best when it matters most.

In an improved Western Conference, the Nuggets’ main hope of making the playoffs and keeping up in the arms race of quality talent is through internal development in the backcourt and from their young role players.

With that being said, let’s take a closer look at three candidates on the Nuggets that are primed for breakout seasons in the upcoming campaign.