Could Zeke Nnaji Become Denver Nuggets’ Next Big Contributor?

The Denver Nuggets are hoping to a lot improved within the coming season, when each Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr make their returns to the lineup.

Murray, as most bear in mind, tore his ACL throughout his breakout season throughout which he was averaging over 21 factors per recreation and looking out like a future All-Star.

Porter performed 9 video games final season earlier than a again harm sidelined him for the remainder of the yr. Within the season prior, Porter Jr was additionally on his strategy to stardom, netting 19.0 factors and seven.3 rebounds per recreation.

Nevertheless, even with each Murray and Porter Jr returning, the Nuggets might stand to make use of one other injection of expertise to safeguard themselves. Apparently, they could discover that possibility internally within the agency of Zeke Nnaji.

Capturing upside

Nnaji hasn’t performed a ton throughout his first two seasons, totalling simply 1,095 minutes over 83 whole video games, and averaging 4.9 factors and a couple of.6 rebounds for his profession. So at first look, he would possibly seem like an off-the-wall possibility.

(Do word that Nnaji put up 6.6 factors and three.6 rebounds final season.)

That mentioned, the 21-year-old has one thing going for him, which the Nuggets might absolutely use. That one thing is an elite three-point shot, that Nnaji has hit at a 43.9% fee over his first two seasons. Final season, he hit 46.3% of his 80 makes an attempt from vary, a depraved proportion for such a younger participant.

Now, granted, the quantity is in fact small. He is taken simply 139 whole photographs from three-point territory over his profession. For comparability’s sake, that is what Stephen Curry takes in about ten video games.

It is also value mentioning this odd stat, which could possibly be each an argument for his capturing, in addition to towards it:

Throughout final season, Nnaji had precisely zero video games the place he hit between 35-49% from vary. He had 12 video games the place he hit all of his makes an attempt, 13 video games the place he hit none of them, and 6 video games of hitting precisely half of them.

The identical holds true for his rookie season. He had seven video games of hitting over 80% of his triples, 14 video games of hitting none, and three video games of splitting even.

This variance in effectivity might simply be fully random, as he is solely performed 83 profession video games, or it might imply he is the following coming of Dee Brown.

(Brown, who performed within the league from 1990 to 2002, was recognized for being both notoriously sizzling or notoriously chilly. Coaches would typically bench him if he missed photographs early, figuring out it wasn’t his night time, or trip him all recreation lengthy if he began off hitting.)

It does appear honest to lean extra optimistic than skeptical with regard to Nnaji as a result of truth he cracked 40% effectivity from three in each seasons, nonetheless. Moreover, the additions of Murray and Porter Jr ought to make him much more open when he shares the court docket with these two, in addition to two-time MVP Nikola Jokić.

A necessity for measurement

The Nuggets are more likely to depend on Nnaji for one more motive. They merely haven’t got a lot measurement on the ahead spots. They traded away JaMychal Inexperienced, and with Jeff Inexperienced having turned 36, there is not any telling if he will be continously accessible.

Whereas Aaron Gordon continues to be going to occupy the beginning energy ahead slot, there’s not lots of measurement backing him up.

Bruce Brown, a key acquisition of Denver this summer time, stands 6’5 and is more likely to obtain a ton of minutes on the three together with Porter Jr, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Vlatko Čančar, who’s at the moment taking part in at EuroBasket for Slovenia, has but to completely land a everlasting rotation spot with the Nuggets after three years with the group.

Nnaji would possibly even get a good quantity of minutes at heart, because the Nuggets in a bewildering second signed DeAndre Jordan to again up Jokić.

Jordan’s previous few years have been full of inconsistent play and a excessive diploma of declining high quality. It stands to motive the Nuggets will finally uncover that he is borderline unplayable, and as an alternative plug in Nnaji and his 6’9 body to area the ground out on the heart spot.

Lastly, there is not any assure that Porter Jr goes to keep up his well being. His again has prompted a number of accidents, even relationship again to his school days at Missouri, and he has solely 125 profession video games to his identify, after being drafted in 2018.

For Nnaji, his probabilities of breaking out and changing into a full-time 25-minute participant, boils right down to constant capturing and a capability to mesh with the gamers on the ground, no matter Jokić is on the market or not.

Defensively, Nnaji additionally must take the following step. He is proven the power to hold with smaller gamers holding a reside dribble, and he is proven he can persist with bigger gamers and maintain his personal. However as soon as once more, this has been via smaller pattern sizes, and his effort hasn’t at all times been constant.

Whereas an absence of defensive consistency is completely regular for gamers in his age group, it is however an space he must be put forth extra effort to face out, and carve out his personal function.

Coming into his third season, it is honest to imagine Nnaji now is aware of what is anticipated of him, and it is as much as him to grab the prospect.

Except famous in any other case, all stats through NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleansing the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All wage data through Spotrac. All odds through FanDuel Sportsbook.