Wind Chimes: Why PJ Dozier could be heading for a breakout year

Michael Malone wasn’t asked about PJ Dozier’s defense on Paul George immediately following the Nuggets’ 110-104 win over the Clippers back in May. Denver’s coach fielded questions about Nikola Jokic’s 30-point, 14-rebounds, 7-assist stat line, Michael Porter Jr.’s 25 points and Facu Campazzo’s clutch triple with a little over one minute remaining in the fourth, but none regarding the player who held George to 5-21 shooting that night.

It was an obvious oversight by us reporters on the call, and Malone made sure to let us know.

“No one asked me, but I thought PJ Dozier tonight was outstanding,” he said unprompted.

Going back and watching the shots George got against the Nuggets, it was a total team effort to hold the Clippers’ wing to what would go down as his worst shooting performance of the season. However, Dozier was Denver’s primary defender on George, and what stood out most from the tape was his straight up defensive effort possession by possession.

These were the type of contests Dozier had on George’s shots all game. George can convert these looks, but Dozier made it about as hard as you can on him.

The Nuggets are heading to San Diego for training camp this preseason. Media Day is Sep. 27 in Denver and the Nuggets will board a charter flight bound for Southern California that night. The team’s six-day training camp, which will be held at the University of California, San Diego, begins Sep. 28 and leads into the Nuggets’ first preseason game Oct. 4 in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

Throughout the six days that Denver spends in San Diego, Dozier will be a player to keep a close eye on. He’s primed for a minutes increase this season from the 21.8 he averaged per game last year mostly thanks to what he showed against the Clippers in that late-season matchup: his defensive versatility.

Other than Aaron Gordon, no one on Denver’s roster can guard the range of players that Dozier can. We know by now what qualities Malone looks for in his role players and Dozier’s defense is going to get him on the floor a ton…maybe for around 25 minutes per night.

Twenty five was as a magic number for Dozier and the Nuggets over the second half of last season. Dozier played over 25 minutes in 12 games after the All-Star break as injuries began hit Denver’s backcourt.

The Nuggets went 11-1 in those games.

Their one loss was in Golden State against the Warriors when Will Barton hurt his hamstring one minute into the first quarter two weeks after Jamal Murray tore his ACL in the same arena. Prior to the All-Star break, Dozier logged over 25 minutes in just three games (all losses in January to the Mavs, Nets and Jazz).

Here’s some of the Nuggets’ additional post-All-Star break wins where Dozier broke the 25-minute barrier, other than the six-point road victory over the Clippers. These all of course came without Murray and Barton.

They’re not the strongest collection wins, but it’s still a pretty remarkable stat.

• Beat Miami by 17 at home
• Road win in Portland
• 24-point win over Memphis at home
• 10-point win over Toronto
• 10-point win over the Spurs
• Two-point win over Zion Williamson and the Pelicans

Dozier should be the Nuggets’ first guard off the bench to open this season. He’s Denver’s best defender out of the backcourt players on its roster and can play the 1, 2 and 3. Malone wasn’t afraid to play him at the 4 either early last year when JaMychal Green got injured in the preseason. The trust that Malone has in the 24-year-old who’s only played 87 career regular season and 12 playoff games is obvious. You get the feeling that Malone really wants to rely on Dozier, just not at power forward.

Offensively, Dozier’s a natural in the pick-and-roll and has shown some really strong instincts as a ball handler. But his shot is still a massive question mark. Dozier regressed as a shooter last season and went from hitting 34.7% of his 3-pointers during the 2019-20 season to only 31.5% last year.

Dozier was the MVP of the Nuggets’ training camp last year, and I’m picking him to go back-to-back this year. He’s been a fixture in the Nuggets’ practice gym this summer and is heading into a contract year. If you subscribe to the belief — which I’m leaning towards more and more — that with Jamal Murray out of the lineup the best way to rack regular season wins is to surround Jokic and Porter with defensive-first players, Dozier is just the type of presence you want in your rotation.

Everything is lined up for him to be a major factor this season.