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

3. Trey Lyles

The first candidate for a breakout season may very well never receive the opportunity to do just that. That of course, is Trey Lyles, who projects to be the backup power forward in the upcoming campaign.

In a way, Lyles posted an under-the-radar breakout season last year, filling in for the injured Paul Millsap to provide quality shooting and offensive play for the Nuggets.

After struggling to stand out in his first two seasons with the Jazz, Lyles received more playing time (a career-high 19.1 minutes per game) and opportunities (career-high 7.5 shot attempts per game), and was able to capitalize and produce his best season yet.

Posting a stat line of 9.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, the most impressive aspect of Lyles’ season was his offensive versatility and improved efficiency, especially from beyond the arc. After hitting just 31.9 percent of his 3-pointers in the 2016-17 campaign, Lyles knocked down 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers last year, making him a true stretch-4 and 5 in Denver’s offense.

Lyles certainly has the tools and skill-set to be a consistent option on offense. While his defense can stand to improve, Denver won’t be a quality defensive team, and the blame won’t be placed on Lyles for that by any means.

Unfortunately for Lyles, he may very well see a decreased role this season with Paul Millsap returning to full health and hopefully staying that way for the majority of the season. When Millsap was in the lineup last season, Lyles saw a dramatic decrease in playing time, a trend that could continue this season as pressure mounts for Denver to return to the playoffs.

Such a decrease in minutes would be a big blow for Lyles after he had a career year, but Millsap provides high-level play on both ends of the floor and is a veteran who has been in playoff games. Denver will need all of the defense Millsap can provide and will have plenty of shooting around him in the starting lineup, making it less of a need to have Lyles’ offensive skills on the floor consistently.

If Trey Lyles continues to receive ample playing time and opportunities, he should be able to build on last season and cement himself as a quality offensive big. If the Nuggets’ frontcourt remains healthy for the majority of the season, Lyles will likely find himself in a small backup role, hurting his ability to put up numbers and increase his value heading into restricted free agency.