Written by Jonathan Peter on October 19, 2022.
It’s time! The Nuggets open the regular season TONIGHT against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. With this being one of the most anticipated seasons in the history of Nuggets Basketball, I wanted to talk about how a couple of unique stats (and one basic one) might factor into how successful the team can be this season.
Deflections & Loose Balls Recovered
Both of these stats fall under the “hustle” category on NBA.com and if you look at last season’s numbers, the Nuggets were below average on nearly every single hustle stat. This season, Denver has to flip that narrative around.
I chose deflections as one thing to watch for because it is a simple way for evaluating Denver’s engagement on defense. Last season, Denver was 20th in league when it came to deflections, generating 13.1 a game. Deflections can result in an opposing team being unable to generate the looks they want. Denver should get better numbers here because of the players added to their roster, but it won’t matter if the team is not locked in defensively. Will the Nuggets be able to keep teams out of their offensive flow?
Denver came in last place for loose balls recovered during the 2021-2022 season, only getting 4.3 a game. This measurement is strictly a result of how much effort a team is giving on a constant basis. If Denver can even increase last season’s average by one more loose ball recovered, it would drastically help come playoff time.
Minutes and Games Played
This stat is obvious, but it will determine how successful the Nuggets can be come playoff time. It has been clear that Nikola Jokic has been overworked over the course of the last two season because he has looked fatigued during the playoff series. There is nothing wrong about that, especially because of how depleted the Nuggets roster has been. This season, that could change because there are now reinforcements.
Overall, it will be interesting to see how Coach Malone manages everyone’s minutes this year, especially with Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray coming off of their injuries. Will Denver have the luxury to rest some key players? How many minutes will guys on the bench be getting throughout the year? My bold prediction is that Bruce Brown will be in the top-5 for minutes played this season.
I’m just so glad the Nuggets are back, this should be a hell of a season.
Stats Tell Stories 