Denver Nuggets void at backup center could be problematic to start season

Over five months ago in BSN’s Denver Nuggets offseason to-do list series we argued the importance of signing an additional rim protector to backup starting center Jusuf Nurkic, saying:

If there’s one need the Nuggets absolutely must address in free agency this summer, it’s backup center. Luckily for Denver the free agent class of 2015 might very well be the most center-rich crop of free agents we’ve seen in years. The list of available centers and shot-blocking power forwards includes Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez, Al Jefferson, Greg Monroe, DeAndre Jordan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Roy Hibbert, Enes Kanter and the above mentioned Tyson Chandler, Robin Lopez, Jason Smith, Omer Asik and Brandan Wright. Put simply: There’s absolutely no reason the Nuggets shouldn’t be able to land at least one of these guys given their dearth of current shot blockers and abundance of cash to spend this summer. If this need goes unaddressed the Nuggets will undoubtedly suffer the consequences next season as guys like LeBron James, James Harden and Russell Westbrook will have field days against Denver on a nightly basis.

So please, Tim Connelly, sign a backup center. Do it for the team, do it for the fans, do it for the mental health of the writers like myself who watch this team night in and night out, because if there’s one way to give an advantage to your opponent in today’s NBA, it’s a lack of paint protection.

Roughly four months later when free agency was wrapping up and the Nuggets still hadn’t made a move to sign a backup center I then proposed a trio of last-minute options including Greg Stiemsma and my favorite candidate at backup center, Jeff Withey. Below are the most notable excerpts from that article pertaining to the debate:

While Nikola Jokic looks like he’ll turn into a valuable backup center or power forward down the road — perhaps even a starter at some point — he’s simply not ready to assume this role come late October. As we saw during Summer League, Jokic is still miles away from grasping the fundamental concepts of NBA basketball he’ll need to master before making an impact at the next level. He’s also only 20 years old and somewhat spindly which certainly doesn’t bode well in projecting his level of production this upcoming year. While Jokic deserves a fair serving of minutes his rookie season it would be greatly beneficial for the Nuggets, both with regards to the team and Jokic’s sake, to stagger his playing time and ease him into the rotation as he’s just not ready to contribute at a high volume right off the bat.

The only other backup center option on the Nuggets’ roster at the current moment is Joffrey Lauvergne. While I think I speak for most fans in saying I’m incredibly high on Lauvergne and can’t wait to see what he’s made of this upcoming year, I also understand this will be his first full 82-game season in the NBA and he too won’t be without his fair share of growing pains. But most importantly, Lauvergne isn’t a center. He’s neither a shot blocker. Lauvergne is a power forward who specializes in rebounding, man defense and hustle. He is not someone who will fly from one end of the key to the other to perform a high-flying weak-side block — and neither is Jokic for that matter…

My question then becomes: When Nurkic is sidelined, or god forbid injured, how exactly do the Nuggets plan on protecting the paint? How exactly do they plan on containing Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge? How exactly will they deflect LeBron James and James Harden when they come barreling down the lane with the speed and girth of a freight train? For that matter, how exactly are they even going to prevent average NBA centers with nonetheless imposing stature and length from finishing over top of the defense?

On Friday night we obtained the first answer to some of the questions posed in the paragraph above when the Nuggets faced the Los Angeles Clippers to kick off the 2015-16 NBA preseason. J.J. Hickson started at center, Joffrey Lauvergne was most productive at this same position while Nikola Jokic had several notable moments (seen below) in what was also a successful stint playing down low at the five.

Coach Michael Malone was quoted recently saying, “don’t read into anything the first probably three, four preseason games” as the Nuggets tinker with lineups leading up to the start of the regular season. But a more telling quote regarding where he may be leaning to garner production at the center spot comes courtesy of our own Nate Timmons, who obtained the following in an interview with Malone this past week:

“It’s an open competition. Obviously, Nurkic is out and he’s recovering well and is ahead of schedule, which is exciting. You could play small and put a guy like Kenneth Faried at the five. You can play big and put either J.J. Hickson or Joffrey Lauvergne at the five. I’ll tell you, Nikola Jokic, he’s a young kid and I’m not saying he’s ready, but he does things every single practice that make you say, ‘Wow, this kid’s got a chance to be a hell of a player.’ For him to be that young and that skilled, it’s really exciting to see. So, a lot of options, but this whole month of October will allow us to see what’s best for this team opening night at Houston as far as the starting center.”

In obeying Malone’s request it would be foolish to delve too far into why he started Hickson on Friday night. It is the preseason after all, and the first game of seven before the regular season gets underway. However if there’s anything we’ve learned about Hickson’s basketball acumen since he was signed two years ago it’s that defending the paint, and everything that goes along with being an impactful center in the NBA (see: shot blocking, hedging, rotating, recovering, disrupting, etc.), is not something he generally does well.

For as much grief as he gets from fans, there’s no denying Hickson is a solid rebounder and reliable offensive talent at times thanks largely to his athleticism… But the same applies for Kenneth Faried — the assumed starter at power forward — making Hickson all the more useless at center given he’d be nothing more than a duplicate of the guy next to him (an argument pretty much every Nuggets fan has stood by throughout Hickson’s tenure in Denver).

I’m unsure as to why I felt obligated to make a case against Hickson starting at center, but in any event I hope the above two paragraphs have served that purpose. Moral of the story: Hickson shouldn’t be starting… at all. Not at any position. Not in any game. Not in any format. Brian Shaw tried this and it failed miserably… so many times. And it was painful. And it was pointless.

Lauvergne should be the starter. Jokic should be the second option. But Lauvergne is deserving of the nod for several reasons: he’s older, he’s tougher, he’s more experienced, he’s meaner, he’s more brawny, he’s quicker at his rotations and at his core he is defensive minded. Lauvergne’s best attribute is his tenacious demeanor on defense. He does a superb job most of the time in staying with his man and bodying up his opponents in the paint. And this is exactly what the Nuggets need at center: a blue-collar roughneck (ironic given Lauvergne’s dapper ‘do) who understands the nuances of defending the paint and who thrives most without the ball in his hands.

While Jokic is no doubt an intriguing option as well, he’s also only 20 years old, rail thin and has yet to play a single regular season game in the NBA. As the season progresses it would nice to see Malone steadily increase his minutes until he’s firmly in the Nuggets’ rotation, however at this juncture it seems unlikely he’s ready for the sort of exposure a starting NBA center gleans on a nightly basis…

Then again, Jokic has played well in virtually every arena since the Nuggets drafted him several years back, including Game 1 of the preseason. And given the Nuggets still have six more games to go before their regular-season opener on Oct. 28th, there’s really no telling how much he’ll continue to impress and improve.

Perhaps the reason Connelly didn’t track down a backup center this summer was because he believed in Lauvergne and Jokic. Though still in the nascent stages of their development, it’s indeed difficult to argue against the innate talent of either. And I think I speak for most fans in saying I can’t wait to see these guys play. But there’s also no denying the growing pains that will be on full display as Lauvergne and Jokic hold down the paint in Nurkic’s absence. Neither of these guys should be starting in any position at this point and their struggles will affect the greater success of the Nuggets overall.

But, thus is life for a young and improving lottery team. Struggle is an intrinsic part of this process. What holds importance over all else is growth. The Nuggets might struggle mightily defending the paint early on and may very well drop a few games they shouldn’t. But if after a few weeks we start to see improvement, even in very small and seemingly unimportant areas, then the experiment of thrusting Jokic and Lauvergne into the forefront should be considered a success.

In the meantime, I’ll go ahead and wish Jusuf Nurkic a very speedy recovery.