Who Is the Biggest X-Factor for the Denver Nuggets This Season?
By Andrew Dill
UNSPECIFIED, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 02: 02: 02: Kenneth Faried #7 of the USA reacts against New Zealand during their game at the Bilbao Exhibition Center on September 2, 2014 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
The Denver Nuggets were one of the teams that didn’t do much in the offseason. Despite missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, the Nuggets have kept their core because it was injuries, not lack of talent, which led to their disappointing 36-46 record last season.
With a healthy line up expected to start the 2014-15 season, let’s take a look at the biggest X-factor for the Nuggets this season:
Making Team USA
Kenneth Faried was among the NBA players included in USAB’s pool vying for slots on the Americans’ 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup team.
At first, Faried was less likely to make the final cut because he was up against bigger named stars, aside from the fact that he was undersized for his natural power forward position. However, even when the big names like LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant withdrew one after the other for various reasons, and Paul George suffered a major injury; Faried wasn’t a lock for a spot with Paul Millsap and the more versatile forwards Chandler Parsons and Gordon Hayward still in contention.
That being said, Faried persevered and proved himself in the scrimmages and exhibition games to earn the attention of Coach Mike Krzyzewski. The longtime Duke mentor said this, via NBA.com on August 5, 2014:
“He’s a different player than the other players we have. His specialty has been rebounding, energy, good defense and running. He did that every day and he did that in the scrimmage. Guys like playing with him.”
Coach K added:
“He’s capable of being a great defensive player because he has the energy, the toughness, the foot speed, strength and quickness. Defense should be one of his strengths.”
Offense has never been a problem for any version of Team USA in the past, as there are truckloads of talent available in the NBA. However, the latest version of Team USA lacked the star power the past teams possessed. Although most of them are current or previous NBA All-Stars, they were said to be beatable and vulnerable.
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So instead of focusing on the offense, Coach K formed a team that was complete in all positions and with players willing to play their respective parts. Faried’s defense won him a spot on the team.
Personally, Faried felt that he would be chosen, but he didn’t expect to be a big part of the team. In a report from CBSSports.com on September 12, 2014, Faried told ESPN’s Marc Stein:
“My expectation was probably to make the team, maybe make it as one of the 12th men, and hopefully win the gold, cheer my teammates on. I was excited about that. But everything seemed to fall into place. I exceeded those expectations. And I’m ecstatic about it.”
Faried was ecstatic, while Coach K and Jerry Colangelo looked like geniuses. And the rest they say, is history.
Beast Mode in FIBA
Faried turned the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup into his own coming out party, kind of like the way Derrick Rose turned the 2010 World Championships into his own show.
Faried became the team’s starting power forward, its leading rebounder at 7.7 per game, 4th leading scorer at 12.2 points per game and the most efficient player at 17.4 efficiency per game.
During Team USA’s toughest game of the tournament, a come from behind win over a rugged Turkish squad, it was Faried who led the surge that led to the breakaway in the second half. The Manimal scored 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against Turkey. At the end of the tournament, Faried, along with tournament MVP Kyrie Irving, was named to the All-World Team, which represents the best five players in the tournament.
While critics say that Faried dominated the World Cup because of the lack of competition, he did so in the presence of bigger name stars like Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond, Derrick Rose, James Harden and Stephen Curry. Coach K said this, via ESPN.com on September 2, 2014:
“‘Overall, from the start of training camp, he’s been the biggest and best surprise and has turned out to be a very, very important player for us,’ Krzyzewski says. ‘He’s made that happen. We never call a play for him.’”
Irving was named tournament MVP, but Faried may have been the team’s MVP because he was their energy source, team glue, emotional compass and spokesman. Who would’ve expected the Manimal to be that on such a talented squad?
Establishing the Cornerstones
The Nuggets’ 2014 season was injury riddled, but amidst the trials and tribulations, first year head coach Brian Shaw established their direction late in the season. In a report by DenverStiffs.com on April 2, 2014:
“Before practice earlier this week, Shaw and his coaching staff met with Lawson and Faried about finishing the season strong and embracing their role as leaders on the court and in the locker room. ‘I just keep trying to encourage both of them to start thinking more in those terms,’ Shaw said. ‘They’ve come to the forefront as the cornerstones that this team is going to be built around.’”
Acknowledging Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried as cornerstones is saying that the team is going in that direction. For the Nuggets, the future is Lawson and Faried.
Kenneth Faried had an up and down 2014, but he finished the season strong after that meeting with Coach Shaw. Look at his 2014 averages on a per month basis:
Points | Rebounds | |
January, 2014 | 11.5 | 7.9 |
February, 2014 | 13.8 | 6.6 |
March, 2014 | 19.2 | 9.8 |
April, 2014 | 21.0 | 13.0 |
A strong second half wind-up and a successful stint at the FIBA World Cup make us believe that Kenneth Faried is going to have a big 2015.
The Return of the Wounded
Ty Lawson, one of the most underrated players in the NBA, is the motor that drives the Nuggets offense, and the team will look to him once again to lead them this season. He tallied 17.6 points, 8.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 2014, and at age 26 he is still emerging as one of the finest point guards in the NBA.
The addition of Aaron Afflalo and Gary Harris to the two guard spot will add more firepower to the Nuggets’ already potent offensive machine.
ACL injury returnees Danilo Gallinari, J.J. Hickson and Nate Robinson will be crucial to the Nuggets’ playoff run. Gallo averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting .373 from three-point distance in 2012-13. On the other hand, Hickson contributed 11.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in his first season with the Nuggets last season. The pocket dynamo Robinson averaged 10.4 points and 1.3 three-pointers in 44 games last season.
Center Javale McGee is one of the most athletic big men in the NBA. The 26-year old McGee played in just five games last season because of a season ending leg injury. He averaged 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game last season. That being said, he’s averaged 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for his career.
If these four will go on to have a healthy season, the Nuggets will be in good shape to go to the big dance. Getting the wounded back will add their stats to the Nuggets production; however that won’t be enough to necessarily translate to wins. The Nuggets need that extra push to take them back to the playoffs, and beyond.
Gold Rush
As ESPN’s David Thorpe is fond of saying, energy is a skill. Not every guy brings it like Faried does, and what he brings can help a team’s intangibles greatly. It’s those intangibles that make him the biggest X-factor for the Nuggets this season. Energy does not show up in the box scores and cannot be quantified, but they should be the key to the Nuggets’ return to the postseason.
In Spain, USA won gold with Faried’s energy leading the charge. It could be the same for the Denver Nuggets this season. And aren’t the Nuggets supposed to be gold seekers too? With Faried at the forefront, these Nuggets could be panning for NBA gold next season.