The NBA season is less than two months away. To prepare for the 2024-25 season, we’re looking at the three biggest questions facing each NBA team for next year. Next up is the former champions, trying to rebound from a second-round playoff loss, the Denver Nuggets.
1. Will Nikola Jokic remain the NBA’s best player?
The Nuggets center won his third NBA MVP award in the last four years last season, putting up averages of 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists. For the past four seasons, Jokic has led the NBA in all of the biggest advanced stats: win shares, Value Over Replacement Player, Player Efficiency Rating and box-score plus/minus, leading in both offensive and defensive BPM in the last three years.
The Serbian big man has also been remarkably durable, missing only 24 games in those four seasons. But he’s turning 30 in February, coming off two seasons where he played 180 total games, plus an Olympic tournament this summer. Jokic rarely gets injured to the point he sits out, a testament to his toughness. But can Denver keep banking on Jokic to play over 90 percent of the team’s games while remaining a top-5 scorer, passer and rebounder?
Honestly, he may well keep doing all those things. But as good as Jokic has been, it’s still dangerous to take his dominance for granted.
2. Can the team’s young bench finally step up?
Sometimes it appears there’s a disconnect between Denver’s front office and head coach Michael Malone. GM Calvin Booth keeps collecting players from late in the first round and early in the second round, in order to provide low-priced rotation players for the Nuggets. Malone keeps losing faith in those players, preferring veterans like Justin Holiday and Reggie Jackson off the bench. This year, Malone may have no choice.
Denver let starting wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave for Orlando in free agency, traded Jackson in a cost-saving move and let Holiday go, seemingly forcing Malone to give minutes to young players. 23-year-old Christian Braun should take over KCP’s place in the starting lineup, while Malone is going to have to give more minutes to 21-year-old Peyton Watson and 22-year-old Julian Strawther, simply because he doesn’t have other options.
Essentially, this is a bet on Denver’s scouting and player development, because many of these young players weren’t trustworthy last season. The young bench needs to get better, because the alternative is playing newly-signed Russell Westbrook big minutes, which hasn’t been a winning strategy for years.
3. Will the Nuggets start taking and making more threes?
The Nuggets were a respectable 10th in three-point percentage last season. Unfortunately, they were last in the NBA in three-point volume, which meant that their efficient 37.4 percent shooting behind the arc led to finishing 25th in made threes. Subtracting Caldwell-Pope (125 threes on 40.6 percent) and adding Westbrook (42 threes on 27.3 percent) will only exacerbate the issue.
Some of that is Jokic finding open teammates near the basket, but Denver was only sixth in the NBA in shots within five feet of the hoop, and third in attempts 15-19 feet from the basket. They’re simply going to have to take more three-pointers and fewer mid-range shots next season, especially in the playoffs. The question is whether Malone and the Nuggets can adjust their offensive philosophy to take more threes and whether they have the personnel to make more.
