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Denver Nuggets: 6 Takeaways from the Entire Preseason

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Oct 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) and Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes (40) battle for a loose ball in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets showed a lot of promise in their preseason, but many questions still remain.

The Denver Nuggets went .500 in their preseason. There were many ups and downs, but they showed enough improvement to get the fans pumped for the regular season.

While it may have not been the ideal preseason with losing Gary Harris for a time and Emmanuel Mudiay having an injury scare, they showed a cohesiveness that yields a promising future.

Gallinari had an outstanding preseason, Faried looked like he thrived coming off the bench, and the “Jurkic,” starting lineup produced magnificent results.

Michael Malone seems to be finding his niche as the coach of this organization and solidifying a foundation for the future.

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With a bit of fine tuning to the schemes and more consistency from the back-court, the Nuggets could easily be a surprise team this season.

Mar 14, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) runs up court during the first half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Faried has now found his spot in the rotation.

There is still a significant chance the Manimal will be traded this year. However, he showed he is much more effective coming off the bench rather than starting this preseason.

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In the dominant win against Dallas, he nearly recorded a double-double with 10 points and 9 solid rebounds.

His explosiveness coming off the bench provided an energetic spark to the Nuggets’ second unit. This is a promising sign for Denver since it is a win-win for how the organization wants to utilize Faried.

With solid play off the bench, his trade value will begin to rise or the Nuggets can keep him to insert a solid seventh man off the bench during games.

Either way one looks at it, the Nuggets keeping Faried with the second unit is one of the best things Malone has done in his tenure with Denver.

Oct 18, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter (11) drives to the basket against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Turnovers will be a problem all season long.

In every single preseason game, the Nuggets struggled in the turnover battle.

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Even in their wins, they had more turnovers than the opponent much of the time. They averaged 18.1 turnovers for the entire preseason which is one the highest rates in the league.

Although, this is to be expected with a young developing core. Hopefully, as the year goes on, the Nuggets will slowly remedy this problem and start limiting the turnovers throughout the season.

With veterans like Darrell Arthur and Wilson Chandler, they will be able to stress ball security to the youngsters and begin to form this team into a solid offensive threat who values possessions.

It will be especially key for point guard Emmanuel Mudiay to decrease his turnovers this year.

Mar 30, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) passes the ball against Memphis Grizzlies forward Chris Andersen (7) during the second half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

The Nuggets will be one of the best rebounding teams.

The Nuggets won the rebound battle most of the time this preseason, with the one exception being against the Thunder.

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Denver averaged a league best 51.4 rebounds per game this preseason! Make no mistake, the Nuggets will win many of their games by winning the battle on the boards.

It seems even in the dark past few seasons, rebounding is something Denver has always done well.

With Nurkic back healthy and Jokic developing, teams will be frustrated on the boards this year against the Nuggets. Not to mention, Denver will stash a secret rebounding weapon in Faried on the bench which could wear teams down in the altitude at mile high.

This reoccurring problem could consistently plague this young Denver Nuggets squad throughout the entirety of their NBA season.

Oct 7, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic (23) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Jokic and Nurkic starting front-court may just work.

The “Jurkic,” lineup actually had much success this preseason. They showed a nice contrast with Nurkic’s rim protection ability and Jokic’s ability to score.

Nurkic looks like he is healthier than ever and has drastically improved his free throw shooting. If that isn’t impressive enough, he is second in the league in rebounding only behind Pistons star big man Andre Drummond as of right now.

Jokic, on the other hand, is coming off a stellar Olympic performance this summer. Currently, Jokic possesses a field goal percentage of 50% to go along with a player impact estimate of 14.5.

The “Jurkic,” front-court has proven to be a terrific one-two punch and hopefully Coach Malone sticks with it in the opener this week.

Oct 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Wesley Matthews (23) defends against Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) in the first quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Consistency and health will be the factors that determine Denver’s success.

Last season, the injury bug bit Denver. It bit them hard, as they were without Wilson Chandler for the entire season, Gallinari hurt his ankle later on in the year, and Nurkic struggled to get back.

This year, the Nuggets are coming back almost fully healthy, (Gary Harris will be out for a couple more weeks), and now have some cohesiveness with each other.

When a team can stay healthy, it creates more consistency within the lineup and translates into more success. The Nuggets have most of the pieces in place, now they just need to play well on a consistent basis.

With a team oriented culture that they are creating, Denver will be an up and coming team. They even showed “Spurs-like tendencies,” in their last game as eluded to in Timmy Hart’s Mavericks vs. Nuggets takeaways article.

With a healthy roster, this team can win more games if they can become consistent and remain healthy.

Oct 14, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone in overtime against the Golden State Warriors at the Pepsi Center. The Warriors won 129-128. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The team is set to show great improvement.

Michael Malone seems to have this team gelling and moving in the correct direction.

It was an exciting preseason, but now it is finally time for the real thing. The home opener against New Orleans should teach us much more about this team.

Gallinari has played like an MVP candidate so far, and Nurkic has been playing like he is the Most Improved Player of the Year.

Once Gary Harris comes back, then the back-court defense will improve drastically.

If these results continue, Denver will shock many people and prove plenty of fans wrong.

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