Denver Nuggets: Five reasons the Nuggets are for real

3. The Denver Nuggets have a diverse offensive profile

Particularly in the playoffs, it’s important for a team to have a multi-faceted offense. When squaring off against the best defenses in the league for multiple games in a row, it’s all too easy to get exposed for being too one-dimensional.

Like most teams in the NBA, the Nuggets attempt the majority of their shots from outside the arc and inside the restricted area, however, they have a healthy balance in between. Despite their frigid pace (29th in the league with a 97.59), the Nuggets still attempt the 15th most field goals per game with 89.2 shots per night.

Of those 89.2 looks, 31.7 percent come from the restricted area, 18.3 percent are from the paint (outside the restricted area), a healthy 16.0 percent are from mid-range, and 33.6 percent of their attempts are from deep. Denver can score from everywhere, and it isn’t just the location of their shots that makes their offense a well-rounded one, it’s how they get their looks at each spot.

The Denver Nuggets motion offense means that there isn’t much standing around and watching, and it shows in their isolation numbers. Denver isos on just 5.0 percent of their possessions, which ties them for 21st in the league. The Nuggets’ aforementioned slow pace is primarily a product of the controlled half court sets they run, and because they only get out in transition on 13.7 percent of possessions (25th in the NBA). As an added benefit of their composed play, they scarcely turn the ball over, and their 13.5 turnovers per game lands them at sixth in the league.

Denver not only cares for the rock, but they share it with everyone on the floor. This season the Nuggets rank fourth in assists, seventh in passes per game, and eighth in assist points created which indicates that the passes they make are generally worthwhile. Denver plays through Jokic frequently, and with his elite court vision, it makes sense to do so.

https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1231743477530030080

Across the NBA, the Denver Nuggets rank third in elbow touches and first in assists from the elbow like in the above clip. Denver makes frequent use of handoffs (second in frequency and points per game) and they’re third in cut frequency and points per game off cuts. They also rank fourth in post-up frequency and third in points from post-ups as well as sixth in miscellaneous play frequency, all of which entails giving Jokic the ball and letting him work his magic.