Russell Westbrook did not essentially change Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the Denver Nuggets. They do not even technically play the identical place. One in every of them is making virtually $23 million this season. The opposite is incomes the minimal. However because the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder throttled the Nuggets 102-87 on their dwelling courtroom Thursday, it was laborious to assume something in addition to “the Nuggets appear to be a staff that changed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with Russell Westbrook.”
Virtually all of Denver’s issues from final season continued into their opening evening defeat. Many have been exacerbated. Denver tried a league-low 31.2 3-pointers per sport final season. They shot 7-of-39 from deep on Thursday. They ranked twenty ninth in free throw makes an attempt at 19.9 per sport. They tried simply 14 towards the Thunder.
Westbrook was hardly the one offender on these fronts, however his presence was a startling reminder of simply what a step again the Nuggets — who’re solely two seasons faraway from an NBA championship — took after they let Caldwell-Pope stroll. Caldwell-Pope shot over 40% on 3-pointers a season in the past. Westbrook is maybe the worst high-volume shooter in NBA historical past, and he completed with solely six factors as he went 2-of-10 from the ground and 1-for-6 from deep within the opener. Having Caldwell-Pope house the ground helped create benefits for drivers close to the rim. The Thunder did not hassle guarding Westbrook as he hung across the perimeter. They devoted these further assets to walling off the paint while not having to foul. Caldwell-Pope’s perimeter protection would have been fairly helpful towards reigning MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 28 for Oklahoma Metropolis within the victory.
This was all considerably predictable. Westbrook is on his sixth staff in seven years largely due to these defects, however introducing him to a roster that already shared a few of these points solely served to amplify all of them. Bench minutes had already been a catastrophe for Denver courting again to the start of the Nikola Jokic period. Positive sufficient, the Nuggets misplaced Westbrook’s 21 minutes by 24 whole factors.
The primary quantity is as essential because the second. No Denver reserve performed as many minutes as Westbrook did. Not defensive ace Peyton Watson, who might need been in a position to hassle Gilgeous-Alexander a bit extra if given the possibility. Not Julian Strawther both, who made 22 of his 48 3-point makes an attempt in Summer season League and the preseason mixed. Not less than they’re each getting rotation minutes this yr. Nuggets coach Michael Malone is notoriously gradual to belief children and used them inconsistently a yr in the past.
Letting Caldwell-Pope stroll was largely a monetary determination, and a defensible one in mild of the second apron and the extensions they gave to Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon afterward. It was seemingly additionally a message from Denver’s entrance workplace to Malone: use the younger guys, since you’re not going to have the identical caliber of veteran at your disposal. It is laborious to think about Thursday is precisely what that they had in thoughts.
It is one sport, which is nearly by no means value panicking over. That is very true in mild of their opponent. The Thunder have been simply the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA historical past. They’ve an opportunity to have a traditionally dominant protection after changing Josh Giddey with Alex Caruso and signing free-agent middle Isaiah Hartenstein (who didn’t play Thursday).
Capturing variance is a harsh mistress. The Nuggets aren’t going to overlook as many open appears as they did towards the Thunder each evening. There are nonetheless methods to make this work. Westbrook, for all of his foibles, nonetheless has capabilities on an NBA roster. However his match on this roster stays iffy at greatest, and the lack of one of many few function gamers within the NBA who may do a lot of the issues Denver is presently missing solely made that extra obvious.
Westbrook didn’t stroll onto a readymade champion, just like the Nuggets have been earlier than the departures of Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown and Jeff Inexperienced. He did not even stroll right into a scenario just like the Clippers staff he signed with in 2023. That staff was no less than flush with capturing and ready to maximise him as a transition menace and secondary ball-handler.
This one, although nonetheless immensely gifted with the core 4 from that 2023 champion, is as flawed because it was a season in the past when it was knocked out of the second spherical by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their largest offseason transfer was so as to add a participant with among the identical flaws and a handful of latest ones.
The outcome was kind of what we must always have anticipated. The Nuggets have been a nasty capturing staff final yr and a worse capturing staff on Thursday. They struggled with bench lineups on the ground final season and struggled once more towards the Thunder when the person charged with fixing them had as many turnovers as made discipline targets.
There’s nonetheless loads of time to deal with all of this, however it is going to require a extra proactive answer than changing a star function participant with declining Corridor of Famer who might not have even made sense with Denver at his greatest.
