DerMarr Johnson is shooting a career low .164 from three-point land. He is averaging 2.5 shots from there per game. He made 1/6 against the Suns (which is actually a better % than for the season ) Is this costing the Nuggets? In close games, numbers like this will be a factor. Perhaps coach needs to tell him to start passing more, or getting to the hoop. (Or use Diawarra and Kleiza more instead). Also, why is he shooting so badly from downtown? Is he missing open looks, or is he only getting pressure shots? If the latter, this would make it even more of a good idea to pass instead of shoot.
Johnson can't cost the Nuggets much because he has very limited minutes. He has played 10 minutes or more in only 12 games this season. He is intelligent and fits well with a running team but his shooting so far this season has been way off. He is shooting .307 this year versus .412 career. And from the arc, he is shooting just .164, as you said, versus a solid .336 career. It is extremely unusual for a player to fall off like this and I have no explanation. There is still a chance for an improvement this season.
What's hurting Denver are the injuries to Camby and KMart. Without those two players defending the interior and creating a presence down low, teams are walking into the paint for easy baskets. The Nuggets defense was built around their ability to block shots from the weakside. Blocking shots was a major part of the team being able to get out on fastbreaks and take advantage of 2-1, 3-1, or 3-2 opportunities. Nene has been productive with his extra playing time, but he doesn't intimidate other teams from penetrating on Denver.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">What's hurting Denver are the injuries to Camby and KMart. Without those two players defending the interior and creating a presence down low, teams are walking into the paint for easy baskets. The Nuggets defense was built around their ability to block shots from the weakside. Blocking shots was a major part of the team being able to get out on fastbreaks and take advantage of 2-1, 3-1, or 3-2 opportunities. Nene has been productive with his extra playing time, but he doesn't intimidate other teams from penetrating on Denver.</div> Agreed 100% and this is a truly excellent summary of why the Nuggets are losing. When you remember that the Nuggets are without KMart and Camby you realize what long odds they face for wins. Nene is hardly the expert defender that Camby is yet. The ball bounced off Nene last night before Mason grabbed it to stuff in the winning basket. Can you imagine Camby or especially KMart allowing Mason to grab it? At the least, Nene needs more experience to be able to intimidate in the paint. I'd like to get a hold of some information about what the odds are that KMart will recover fully from knee surgery and be at full strength next year.
