Last-Minute News, Rumors, Reports before Denver Nuggets New Orleans Pelicans Game

The Denver Nuggets had the best offense in the NBA, being ranked first in the league. This season, they're ninth, and now they have a matchup, and this could not have come at a better time, as it's a team that they've already beat twice. As the Nuggets start to find some serious momentum this season, and guys, they go to New Orleans to play the team that takes more of its shots at the rim than anybody in the league. Now. That sounds like a trap game, I think it's the opposite, and I'm going to show you the two numbers that do decide this. Here is the first thing, the Nuggets are doing something very strange with their shots. Here's the second thing. The Pelicans have a hole in their game that fits exactly what Nicola Jokic does best. So stay with me here. Guys, on this episode of Nuggets Digest, we have a lot to go over on why the Nuggets are about to collect another win. But guys, at the same time, as many wins as they tack up, still, fans do not really see them as an NBA championship contender, which is why they only have a 3% chance on Cal Shee to win the NBA title. If you guys think that the Denver Nuggets can win the championship, I do want to thank Calci for sponsoring this video because on Calci, you're trading directly against other users, not the house like traditional sports books. You're buying yes or no contracts on the outcomes of events across sports, politics, and even the weather. For example, the Nuggets to win that NBA championship where you would get over $700 if you trade $25 on the Nuggets to win the championship this season, guys, and you trade that right now. And if you're interested in trying out Calci, click the link in our description and pin the comment. Guys, if you sign up for Cal season code DITUSNBA, you'll get $55 when you trade your first 25. It's a great deal for you. It helps the channel out a bunch as well. And let's get into this news. Let's start with the fall of the Nuggets offense, which is still pretty good. I mean, their offensive rating is a 115.9. It's ninth in the league. But last season was 121.2, which was first in the league. Their net rating is a .7, 17th in the NBA. Last season, it was a plus 5.2, and their rebound rate was a 49.1%, 22nd in the league, down from the 51.1% last season. So what's different? Well, look at where they shoot the ball. 16.2% of Denver's shots are in the mid-range. That's the highest share in the entire NBA, and they do employ DeMar DeRozan, so obviously kind of one fit right there. But at the same time, they're not the most efficient shots in the world. Only 39.3% of their attempts come from the rim or the corner three. That's 18th in the league. The Pelicans are at 49.6%, which is first in the league. Keep that gap in your head right now. And then there is the way that they get those shots. Denver's first in the NBA in post-up frequency, 8.1% of their possessions. And they are 28th in the pick-and-roll role-man frequency at 3.4%. And that's not a bad way to play when your center is Nikola Jokic. But it is a very different team from the one that led the league in offense. And it is a choice. Denver's pick and roll ball handler frequency has dropped from 4.3 points since October 25th from 18.8% of their possessions to 14.5% of their possessions. Fewer pick and rolls, more post-ups, and more mid-range shots. And when the best player in the league is a passing center that can work, But it asks every shot to be a good one. And mid-range is the hardest place to be efficient. The offense has gone from the best in the league to merely good. And this is a big reason why. And here's MJAWP on our last video saying, a slow and easy start for a man who ended last season on an injury probably should have kept him out is not a big deal. It's the early innings, which is a fair point. The season is just a couple of games old at this point. And one thing is working. The Nuggets score 1.27 points per possession on putbacks. That's fourth in the NBA. Miss it, grab it, and score. The Nuggets do that. And Nikola Jokic has been great. He's averaging 25.8 points over his last five games compared to the 21.2 before that. Here's the number no one's talking about. Jokic is shooting 31.7% from three with Christian Brown on the floor and shoots 12.5% without him. The plus minus tells the same story. Plus 4.3 with Brown on the floor, minus 7.5 without him. Now, the on and off numbers is earlier noisy, and I would not build a trade on them. But when Jokic has a running mate who spaces the floor, the whole offense changes. And the way that plays that he plays specifically tells you why he lives in the paint. He runs post about 17% of his place. That is a big share for a player whose passing is his best attribute. But he's also the best post scorer in the NBA, and he has been over the last six years. No one's been more efficient in the post than Jokic. Think about that for tonight. If New Orleans sends help at him, it is an easy pass to the corner. If it doesn't, it's a layup because, honestly, Jokic is going to fry the defense on this team. I mean, Yves Misi is dealing with some injuries. He might play. He might not. And outside of him, there's not a whole lot of defense coming at you from the big man spot out in New Orleans. So it's – Either way, the Pelicans are going to have to guard the paint and the corner at the same time, and the records keep falling. Yokochiri passed Alex English for first in offensive rebounds by 163, and he is also four blocks from passing Antonio McDyess. for sixth in franchise history in blocks. That's gonna be about six games by Jokic's pace right now. There is a bigger story behind all this too. Tim Kawakami said, and I quote, he's very likely to go back to Denver, but it's an open thing. There's nothing guaranteed about him going back and signing a long-term extension with Denver. That's a reporter from Golden State's read. Not a full decision, but it's why every Jokic game matters right now, especially because these wins have to happen so Jokic doesn't think about where else he could win or at least try to. And I do have a quick ask for you guys. If you have been following this, We do have the best Nuggets content. We have the highest quality YouTube videos on the Denver Nuggets in the entire world. So you want to make sure to not miss out on that. But also we want to look at the Pelicans right here because the Pelicans 40.9% of their shots are at the rim first in the NBA. They take almost no threes from above the break 24.1% of their shots, which is 30th in the NBA and their first in the NBA and caught possessions. 1.72 points per possession, and they are first on putbacks too. 1.43 points per possession. And this is a team that scores by cutting, running, and crashing. Everything near the basket. But look at what they cannot do. On isolated possessions, the Pelicans score 0.72 points per possession. That's 26th. They shoot 26.7% on corner threes. So, when the cuts are covered, they have nothing, and when they are running more now, their transition frequency is up from 15.7% of possessions on October 25th to 21.7%, and they are also among the league's least frequent off-screen teams, 27th in the league, 1.8% of possessions, so the Pelicans do not run their shooters off-screens to get them free. Put those together, a team cuts, crashes, and runs, but cannot score in isolation and does not get open threes. If Denver takes away the paint and gets back in transition, there's no plan B, and this is where Denver's rebounding problem matters. The Nuggets are 22nd in rebound rate. If they miss and the long rebound goes either way, the Pelicans run, and the on-and-off is wild. The Pelicans are 31.7 points per 100 possessions better with Herb Jones on the floor and 22.8 points per possessions. worse with DeShante Murray on the floor. Again, it's noisy, but if Murray's minutes are the story for New Orleans, Denver should be able to hunt his side of the floor as Murray and New Orleans are dealing with a whole lot of drama right now as well. Also, we have to look at the Nuggets rotation because they have a rookie who has made them way better. They're 9.4 points per 100 positions better with Trayvon Brazil on the floor. And Brazil has been a name in the comments a lot. Here's MJA4WP again saying, get Brazil more involved and develop him now. A lot of you are asking for the same thing. Watson's number is ugly, but it is a small sample, and I would not call it his fault. What I want to see tonight is who Denver plays next to Jokic when the game gets tight, especially defensively. And the roster's not changing easily. Denver's $53.2 million over the cap with a payroll of $218 million. Any move has to shed salary. And Brett Seagal reported this, and I quote, the two names that keep coming up and players who the Nuggets will be listening to offers for, it doesn't mean they're going to actually look good. to trade them, but they will take calls, are Cam Johnson and Aaron Gordon. It's not a trade. It's a team listening. I'll tell you more about this later on in another video for tonight. None of that matters. The roster is the roster, and the Nuggets have to find a way to win with it. And if the offense gets back to something like last season's, the rest of the conversation is going to get quiet very fast. So watch the minutes, who gets the early run, who gets pulled, and whether the rotation looks like a team that still has figured out its identity or one that is still guessing. Let me put it all on one screen. What to watch tonight? Jokic and Brown together, the mid-range share, Denver on the glass, the Pelicans in transition, and who closes next to Jokic in the fourth? I kind of want to see it be Brazil already. So here's what tonight decides. I mean, one, we look at... Denver stops living in the mid-range and gets Jokic and Brown on the floor together where that offense works. Two, Denver cleans the glass so New Orleans can't run. If they do, the Pelicans have nothing in the half court. They don't. They don't have a lot of shot creation on that team in general. This is a game New Orleans can steal in transition. My read is that Denver has the better player, the better matchup in the half court, and a reason to be motivated. But New Orleans is first in the league at attacking the rim, and a team that is 22nd in rebound rate can give up a lot of easy points. Now, before I go, I do want to give the comment of the day to LeBarros-i3d, saying time to get a new coach in there, period, real soon. Things are not working out for this Nuggets team, I hear you. But honestly, do we see the rebound rate get fixed in one game by a coach? No, but also I'm not really going to defend David Adelman a ton, because I also think his change is kind of due at this point. But let me know in the comments. Do the Nuggets win or do the Pelicans finally beat the Nuggets in a game? I'll read the best ones and share them on the screen next game. Like this video, subscribe, turn on post notifications, check out more videos that should be on the screen just about now.