By Jordan Long
The Denver Nuggets 2016-2017 campaign starts tonight on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans. Their first home game is Saturday night when they host the Portland Trailblazers. The Nuggets are hoping to end a four-year postseason drought.
Last season Denver went 33-49 in Mike Malone’s first year as Head Coach. That was 8 games back of the Houston Rockets for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West. The Nuggets were an average basketball team in points scored with 101.9 points per game.
What hurt their chances of being a playoff team last year was defense. They couldn’t stop opponents from scoring, allowing 105 points per game. The Nuggets didn’t boxout on the defensive end. When shots went up, the other teams would out rebound the ball, giving them second chance points.
This season the Nuggets should be able to score on offense. They have Nikola Jokic, Danilo Gallinari, Gary Harris, and Emmanuel Mudiay as the starters. Off the bench, Will Barton will provide energy.
The x-factor for the Nuggets is Wilson Chandler. He missed all of last year with hip surgery. Chandler is one of the Nuggets best offensive players and plays defense. He averages 13.7 points per game in his career. On defense he can boxout with 5.3 rebounds per game. The question is how healthy is that hip? If the hip isn’t bothering him, Chandler will be back at a high level, scoring points and playing defense. If not, the Nuggets could see another disappointing year which could mean missing the playoffs yet again.
Denver looks primed for another run at the postseason. The West is always competitive. The start of the season is going to be key for the Nuggets. They must play above or close to .500 by January. If the Nuggets are below .500, it will be difficult for them to make the playoffs. The Nuggets on paper look like a team that could make the 8th spot in the West. We will have to wait and see what happens this year.
How do you think the Nuggets will do this season?
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