If I were to tell you that two Denver Nuggets players combined to shoot 18-22 (81.8 percent) against the Los Angeles Lakers, who would you guess those players were?
Raise your hand if you guessed Kenneth Faried and J.J. Hickson? Let the record indicate that nobody had their hand raised.
The Manimal and Hickson combined for 45 points, 22 rebounds (five offensive), 3 assists and 2 blocks in Denver’s 120-109 drubbing of the Lakers. Not a bad night for the two, especially when you consider that Hickson barely got off the bench in the preseason and had only appeared in one game this season in Oklahoma City; where he played just three minutes with the game already decided for the Thunder.
Brian Shaw used to use the line, “Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.” And Michael Malone used similar words after the Nuggets preseason game against the Phoenix Suns when I asked about Hickson’s lack of playing time in the early going.
“Just a numbers crunch,” said Malone. “J.J.’s got to stay ready, when he’s given that opportunity I know he will.”
Hickson was ready last night and stepped up big with both Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic out with lower back injuries. Danilo Gallinari spoke about Faried and Hickson after the game and had a nice moment with The Manimal.
Kenneth Faried photobombs Danilo Gallinari’s post game interview. The two have a good bond. #Nuggets https://t.co/2MPu2vBaK9
— Nate Timmons (@NateTimmonsBSN) November 4, 2015
Hickson and Faried also combined to go +16 on the night and Hickson’s on/off numbers spurred this Tweet from CBSSports.com’s Matt Moore:
J.J. Hickson has the second-best on/off splits of any Nuggets rotation player and Darrell Arthur has the worst. It’s opposite world. — Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) November 4, 2015
The questions posed last night from multiple Nuggets fans and media members alike is if Hickson’s performance will earn him more time in Malone’s rotation. The 27 year-old forward is in an interesting spot with the Nuggets. He’s playing out the final year of his deal, earning $5.6 million this season – which is good for the fourth highest salary on the team. With a plethora of forwards on the roster in Gallo, Wilson Chandler, Faried, Lauvergne, Jokic and Arthur it’s hard to see a future for Hickson with the Nuggets beyond the season. All the aforementioned guys have deals that extend past this season and Hickson has looked like the odd man out.
While his performance against the Lakers was well timed, the Nuggets were also facing one of the worst defenses in the league. The Lakers are giving up 116.8 points per game to their opponents, good for dead last in the league.
There is no way that Hickson should eat into the minutes of Faried, Lauvergne or Jokic, but with the offensive limitations of Arthur (25 percent shooting on the season), Malone could look to play Hickson in his place as a guy who rolls harder to the rim off pick-and-rolls. But the catch with Hickson over Arthur is that you’re trading offense for defense and that won’t bode well with Malone.
Credit goes to Hickson for being a professional about seeing a big reduced role with the Nuggets. And even more credit goes to Hickson for being an active teammate on the bench; he’s often one of the first guys up encouraging teammates as they head to the bench after a playing stint or timeout and he’s one of the best cheerleaders after a big play.
Heck of a game for Hickson, but Malone should continue to use him only in emergency situations.
2 Comments (1 conversation)
To me, the Utah game at home tomorrow is a Statement game. A Statement that the Nuggets are beginning to solidify their identity as a rugged pick and roll, herky jerky attacking, streaky shooting, high volume rebounding, quick and hustling defending team which can overachieve its talent when they shine with great balance and chemistry as a team. Denver has already shown that they can win with Mudiay shooting less than 40% because of his ability to facilitate the offense and drop dimes from anywhere on the court while being a rangey combo guard defender. Harris has shown his defense is impactful by itself. Therefore, Denver’s balance and chemistry to overachieve manifest itself when the Nuggets provide equal opportunities for Gallo’s and Mudiay’s creativity along with the mid-post looks, cuts and rolls for Faried, Lauvergne, Jokic and yes “emergency” Hickson. Just think about when Chandler and Nurkic return as well. The point is that Denver has a multitude of versatile forward/centers who can make high efficiency shots when our play calling and athletic guards help them get space to score. Denver will win vs Utah which will create excitement and momentum for Fri at Golden State to be like a playoff game for our young Nuggets.
I’m getting excited for the return of Nurkic – still not sure when it’ll be, but like you I think the versatility of the Denver bigs is going to be tremendous when he’s back. Have to wonder if Malone will continue to play Jokic once Nurkic is back or if he’ll sit down Arthur (who hasn’t been as effective as Jokic).