Denver Nuggets 2022-23 Season Preview
Murray & Porter Jr return to bolster an already dominant Jokic.
Welcome to the 2022-23 previews for every NBA team! These breakdowns are designed to look at stats, film & anything I found interesting in my preparation for the upcoming NBA season.
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Stats
Net Rating: +2.1 (12th)
Offensive Rating: 114.6 (9th)
Good
The number one shooting team in the NBA is going to add Murray and Porter Jr. I would not be surprised if this offense is the number one offense in the NBA this season, the firepower they have with those 3 alone is going to be awesome.
Bad
A below-average ranking for both OREB% and FT Rate held back the Nuggets’ offense from being lethal. They ranked 18th & 19th respectively, and I think one of these needs to get into the top 10 for the Nuggets’ offense to get to the next level.
Ugly
Turnovers were an issue for the Nuggets this past season and I have some concerns moving forward. Morris was a low turnover point guard and is now gone, with Murray & Jokic having the bulk of playmaking duties I think turnovers could still be an issue this season. The Nuggets ranked 26th in the NBA, turning the ball over almost 15% of the time - this has to be cleaned up in order to have the best offense in the league.
Defensive Rating: 112.4 (15th)
Good
Denver was the number one defensive rebounding team in the league, only allowing opponents to rebound back 24% of their misses. A fantastic stat that will translate well this season and help improve a defense that needed some work.
Bad
Allowed teams to shoot an eFG% of 54%, ranking 20th in the league & I am not sure how this becomes much better. Adding Murray & Porter Jr will bolster the offense, but both players aren’t going to be impacting the defensive end to impact this much.
Ugly
The worst defensive team in the NBA when it comes to rim protection, allowing opponents to score at a 68.7% clip at the rim. This is likely the biggest issue for the Nuggets defense next year, how will they defend the rim & paint at a high enough level to contend in the playoffs?
Film
Note: Most of this film is Jokic-centric, when the regular season is here we will dive in-depth into what the Nuggets offense tweaks look like this season.
2-Man Game (Zoom)
The basic of the Denver Nuggets’ offense, the “2-Man Game” is basically a way to play off Jokic to read and react to the defense.
I have heard this action called “Zoom” primarily when the ball is thrown into the big and read from there.
Delay Zoom
The most common way the Nuggets get into this Zoom action is to run it out of Delay, or 5-Out. Throwing it to the big in the middle of the floor, the guard has space to cut backdoor, go into a hand off or make multiple reads off the actions.
Jokic Running Slips
One of my favorite things about Jokic is his off ball IQ & actions. The most common look he will go to is faking a screen and then slipping to the basket on the run.
Wedge Punch Jokic
To get the ball to Jokic in the post, the Nuggets will use “Wedge” action or a screen around the free throw line for the big.
This can be used as ballscreen action as a read, but the main goal is to free up space for Jokic to post up.
21 Jokic
In early and flow offense, Jokic is so elite at “Bust Outs” or grabbing and go it gives the Nuggets lots of options.
One of these options is to run 21 action for him while he is handling and bringing it up.
Elbow Jokic
Jokic and the Nuggets’ “Flash Game” is one of the hardest things to guard in the NBA. Because this action is so random and spontaneous, nothing is really the same on each individual possession.
One possession they could look for a backdoor cut into a dribble hand off, the next they can hand it off and Jokic pick and pops.
Knicks Ballscreen
One of the primary set plays the Nuggets went to After Time Outs was “Knicks” action, what I call a pass into a step up ballscreen. This is started off with a hand off on one side of the floor and a quick ball reversal to the other side - into a ballscreen.
Knicks Elbow Pin 5 (ATO)
They use this setup for multiple counters and looks, my favorite being this special pindown set for Jokic.
Jokic initiates the play with the hand off on the side and the flash to the elbow on the reversal.
The elbow fakes the hand back to the point guard and then a guard screens away for Jokic in the corner. How many other teams can run a pindown set for their center?
If you liked this breakdown feel free to share it & if you have any other scenarios, plays, or thoughts on any future breakdowns let me know in the comments below!
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Outwork Yesterday.
Coach Pyper