The outside shooting of Nate Robinson, Randy Foye and Ty Lawson. As a team the Nuggets are shooting 37.6% from deep, good for 11th best in the league, thanks in large part to Wilson Chandler (9-17, 52.9%) and Andre Miller (6-8, 75%). Robinson’s shooting is down from 40.5% last season to 36.4% (8-22) this season, Foye down from 41% to 34.1% (14-41), and Lawson down from 36.6% to 33.3% (12-36). If those three can raise their averages above or at the team average, the outside shooting will really be in business. In Lawson’s case, he is having to do the bulk of the team’s scoring and has been phenomenal this season in all other areas. Hopefully those shots will start falling for those three on a more consistent basis.
20+ turnovers. The Nuggets have only turned the ball over 20+ times twice in nine games and they lost both of those. The team has actually been pretty decent in the turnover department as they are tied with the Pistons for the ninth best turnover rate at just 15.0 per contest. The team has recorded 14 or less turnovers in four of their nine games with just two of them being wins (they lost to the Spurs with just four turnovers!).
Fans that were grumbling about Wilson Chandler. The Nuggets are 2-1 with Chandler back in the mix and he has already solidified himself as the second scoring option with 15 points per game on 50% shooting (Lawson the primary scorer with 21.2 ppg). His defense has also been a much needed addition as he’s averaging 1.33 steals per game, second on the team to … you guessed it: Ty Lawson (1.56).
Omer Asik. Just a year removed from signing a three-year, $25.1 million deal as a free agent with the Houston Rockets, Asik is reportedly asking for a trade – on multiple occasions. Things have gone so wrong in Houston that the team had to deactivate him against the Nuggets and his teammates are speaking out about the situation, too. Didn’t Asik know the Rockets were gunning for Dwight Howard? He might be the only person on the planet who wasn’t aware of that as general manager Daryl Morey was pretty obvious about things. The team tried a twin tower approach, but that hasn’t worked. Expect Asik to be dealt sooner rather than later if they can’t get his mind right.
The Celtics, Knicks, Nets, Bucks, Grizzlies, Nuggets, and Lakers. Those seven teams made the playoffs last year and all are currently out of the early season playoff seeding. The Eastern teams (C’s, NY, Nets, Bucks) went a combined 182-145 last season for a win percentage of .557, but currently they are just a combined 12-26 or a .316 win percentage. The Western teams (Grizz, Nugs, LA) were an impressive 158-88 last season for a win percentage of .642, but currently are a combined 14-17 or a .452 win percentage.
