RealGM

Here is a breakdown of each Denver player, and my thoughts on their performance:

PG - Lawson B-
Ty took this preseason a little too casual for me, maybe the contract situation has been a distraction, or maybe he just wasn't that worried. He shot 39% from the field, averaged 5.7 asts and 8.8 pts. He at times looked to be a passer more than a scorer, and wasn't that aggressive.

SG - Iggy B
Iggy looked like a natural fit with this group, running, passing, rebounding, deflecting - but struggled to put the ball in the hole, shooting just 31% from the field and 23% from 3PT land. Had a well rounded stat line of 5.0 rebs, 4.3 asts and 8.7 pts, but sometimes looked way to passive and tried too much be a distributor. Only attempted 13 FTs in 6 games - which GK wants to see him improve.

SF - Gallo B
The Italian was very aggressive shooting the ball, leading the team in points, but his FG% was low at 39. Shot a high FT% which is good as he got to the line often. Has been given the green light to shoot threes - 6.8 attempts per game. Gallo needs to be aggressive every game and not just when he feels like it.

PF - Faried B-
The Manimal had his moments, but overall wasn't that impressive to me. He got killed by the likes of David Lee, Blake Griffin and Michael Beasley, his defense needs improving, only 2 blocked shots. He was 2nd on the team in rebounding at 6.4 whilst playing 5 mins more than Koufos. He did though look to score more and was great at running and finishing the break. Should easily average a double double this year.

C - Koufos A-
Kosta has solidified his spot as the starting centre to start the season, playing all 7 PS games averaging 8.7 rebs and 7.1 pts in 20 mpg. He knows where to be on the court, setting screens and crashing the boards. KK could be up for MIP this season if he keeps it up.

6th Man - Brewer B+
C Brew came out firing this PS ready to prove that he deserves to be in the rotation. He was 2nd in points with 15.2, led the team in FGs made and FTs attempted. Shot well from the field and 3PT line, but below average from the FT line. He is perfect for the energy guy role and playing around 18-24 mpg. He has made a case for being the 6th Man option this season, replacing Al Harrington.

C - McGee B-
McGeezy got better as the PS went along. He is best coming off the bench playing alongside Dre. He averaged 4.7 rebs, 1.14 blks and 8.4 pts, but his shooting was horrible, especially from the FT line. Once he gets comfortable with his Hakeem moves, he will be ok. Needs to focus on D first, the points will come. Should eventually be the starting C.

SF - Wilson Chandler C-
WC needs to work on his conditioning. He is still clearly recovering from hip surgery and also had dental work done. But the shots he took were bad, contested ones. He shot 21% but is a banger on the boards and can defend the bigger SFs, smaller PFs of the game. His defense will get him mins but he needs to take better shots when on the court.

PG - Andre Miller B-
Dre only appeared in 4 games, but looked OK with 3.5 rebs, 6.3 asts, 1.25 stls and 4.5 pts. Conditioning was the only thing holding him back, but overall he looked good playing with the 2nd Unit. GK has said that Dre will play 25 mpg this year, and he knows exactly where to throw the ball to the likes of Faried, McGee, Brewer etc

SF - JHam B-
Hamilton had stretches of good basketball, and then at times, just looked confused/lost on the defensive end. Yes he shot well and has a score first mentality (10.8 pts in 19 mins), but he needs to do other things as well to get minutes. His double double would of helped his cause vs the Suns and if he can rebound/defend more, then GK will be comfortable using him more.

PF - Randolph C+
AR had a good preseason and could earn 10-15 mins at the PF/C spot. He is athletic, can run, can shoot, can rebound and defend. At times he took bad shots, made bad decisions and did too much, but he is a skilled big man.

C - Mozzy C-
To me Mozzy just looked bad. He averaged 3.5 rebs and 4.7 pts and at times, looked awful. With the way KK is playing, Mozzy will only be needed for defending big guys and using fouls.

PG - Fournier C+
This kid looked good and got better each game, he belongs in the NBA and could help the Nuggets. He didn't do anything in particular that well, but has won GK over with his learning and IQ. He needs to work on his jumper and look to pass first, but I think he will see some PT this year as his confidence grows.

For minutes distribution, I would see this for the start of the year:

PG - Ty - 32-36, Dre - 12-16
SG - Iggy - 32-36, Dre - 4-8, Brewer - 6-10
SF - Gallo - 26-30, Brewer - 10-14, Chandler - 6-10
PF - Faried - 26-30, Chandler - 14-18, Gallo - 2-6
C - KK - 16-20, McGee - 22-26, Mozzy - 4-8

Randolph was a solid B

I don't think it's a good sign that KK had the best preseason.

i thought gallo & fournier were the most impressive in the pre-season. liked gallo's assertiveness & aggression in most games. looks healthy and in attack mode, which is key. and fournier has way more skills and a simple knack for the game than i thought a 19 year old would.

farieds defense has been a big disappointment to me. needs to be more gritty, get up into guys more, do more fronting and grappling and things to cause havoc. you need those cheap skills to be a successful undersized PF on the defensive end.

koufos was better than expected.

mcgee looks about the same as last year. flashes of "omg that guy is so big and talented, its impossible for him not to have a positive impact on the game" and then equally bad "dude....you just took a 20 foot jumper?" or weird, bumbling trying-to-do-too-much plays.

andre miller is andre miller. so slow, but he just finds a way to get it done and is definitely key to the offense of mcgee & faried.

not sure what to make of lawson & iguodala. neither did much to mention, but i suspect they'll be fine once the regular season starts.

overall i'm not thrilled, and i feel like all the praise by the media is a bit undeserved. offense has been sloppy to say the least, interior defensive rotations have verged on terrible at times. but i'll reserve any real negative judgement until i've seen 10 regular season games or so.