Nuggets' Power Forwards

[NuggetsWY]

Millsap & Lyles seem great for this year, especially if Malone doesn't use Plumlee with Jokic too much.
Lydon & Vanderbilt don't look to get much time and that'll be OK.

Is Lyles the PF of our future? I'm not convinced but he seems like the best option we have for now.

I'm not convinced Vanderbilt is a starting PF. He's had a couple of injuries and his FG% is a little low and he doesn't appear to be a stretch shooter. But with his rebounding and defense, he'd be a nice bench player.

Can Lydon be a starting PF? Again, it just doesn't seem like. Same with Hernangomez.

Lots of "bench PFs" but after Millsap leaves, we don't appear to have a starter.

[The Rebel]

I think you are significantly underrating Vanderbilt's potential and overrating shooting (as weird as that is to say). Every team has at least 1 or 2 guys that play very significant roles on their team that cannot shoot. He could easily be a Faried with defense, one of the things that made Faried and Jokic work so well on offense, is that Faried can and would set screens, and knew how and when to cut to the rim, if healthy he can easily be the 5th starter on this team long term. the question just like Porter is going to be health.

I do not believe that Lyles is going to be the long term answer at PF, his defense is lacking and has too far to go, and after his comments bitching about practice, I just don't know if he is a guy you can trust to put in the work to get better.

I think the front office looks at Lydon as a long term backup big, a guy who can do 3 and D small ball Center and backup PF, and be you shot blocker off the bench. It would not surprise me if he 400-600 minutes this year.

Juancho I think they still consider him to be a long term SF, and if Vanderbilt works out they would make a good forward pairing and he could also fit next to Porter if he works out.

[THE J0KER]

Last season when half of our roster are power forwards, and next season when starter Millsap expires, it would be a very controversial question. But this season Millsap30+Lyles18 are the obvious choice when both are healthy.

Another unknown question about 2019-20 PF is also how many Porter will be used at PF.

[skywalker33]

This is a crucial season for Lyles, his offensive game is perfectly made for this team. On a Per 36 he a out a 20/10 guy, he can light it up on any given nights given the mins. Chris Dempsey has reported how good of shape he looks right now. However, it's his defense (like most young players) that we have to be concerned with. He has the talent to be a good defender but is he willing to put in the work ?? Hopefully he will notice and work with Millsap to get better. If he does improve on the defensice end he will move into the starting PF slot.

Also, I agree with Rebel, Vanderbilt is being slept on right now. Granted his health is an issue and he needs to work on his shot, but give him a chance to fill out and I believe he can become a 5th starter as well. With MPJ, Jokic, Murray and Harris in the lineup, how much scoring will we need from this defensive-minded rebounder ???

[NuggetsWY]

I don't really consider anyone's defense, at least not overall. The eye-test says certain players are good one-on-one but the Nuggets' team defense is so pathetic it makes everyone look bad in some respects. How are the young players supposed to learn how to play defense on this team?

[THE J0KER]

I don't really consider anyone's defense, at least not overall. The eye-test says certain players are good one-on-one but the Nuggets' team defense is so pathetic it makes everyone look bad in some respects. How are the young players supposed to learn how to play defense on this team?

With TOP5 offense we have, the only thing which we need from defense is to not be league bottom-5. Even mediocre #15-#20 rank would be great in such circumstances. Unfortunately, we are bottom-5 last season, but I'm not sure we are that bad. Simply, we played just about 25 games with Millsap and G.Harris together on the floor, and they are our key (+ Jokic) defensive players. IT is another player which will make our offense better but defense worse, but with healthy Harris-Millsap-Jokic trio where each playing 33+ mpg, I see Nuggets something like #3 offense and #20 defense, which should be arguably enough for TOP5 seed on the West.

Talking more about PF Lyles case, I think he should work more on his mindset as backup player, and always have big picture in his mind. Lyles per-36 stats are way better from games when he gets 20+ minutes to play, and this kind of the frustration are dangerous for a player settled to play 15-20 mpg next season. His 2018-19 role is once again reduced but very important for this team.

[skywalker33]

I don't really consider anyone's defense, at least not overall. The eye-test says certain players are good one-on-one but the Nuggets' team defense is so pathetic it makes everyone look bad in some respects. How are the young players supposed to learn how to play defense on this team?

With TOP5 offense we have, the only thing which we need from defense is to not be league bottom-5. Even mediocre #15-#20 rank would be great in such circumstances. Unfortunately, we are bottom-5 last season, but I'm not sure we are that bad. Simply, we played just about 25 games with Millsap and G.Harris together on the floor, and they are our key (+ Jokic) defensive players. IT is another player which will make our offense better but defense worse, but with healthy Harris-Millsap-Jokic trio where each playing 33+ mpg, I see Nuggets something like #3 offense and #20 defense, which should be arguably enough for TOP5 seed on the West.

Talking more about PF Lyles case, I think he should work more on his mindset as backup player, and always have big picture in his mind. Lyles per-36 stats are way better from games when he gets 20+ minutes to play, and this kind of the frustration are dangerous for a player settled to play 15-20 mpg next season. His 2018-19 role is once again reduced but very important for this team.

Sorry, I don't think ANY player should have the mindset to be a backup, they should ALWAYS be ready to start and play their best. I like that fire and push to be better than anyone at their position. Seems to me when you put them in a box like backup, they lose their edge to perform as well as they can, it limits them. I can agree with them putting the team first, but when you box them into a mindset they soon be looking for greener pastures.

[The Rebel]

I expect Lyles to struggle this year, and I truly think if Juancho and Lydon look to be rotation ready, I think he should be traded.
Lyles had a pretty defined role and got minutes in Utah when Favors was out his rookie year, and he played well for a rookie. I remember Utah fans saying he was untouchable. Then Lyles became the 4 big for the Jazz his 2nd year with Gobert and Favors healthier, and suddenly he was struggling again.
Last year when Millsap was out, Lyles put up 14 and 6 on over 60% ts, when Millsap was playing, he was not near the player.
He seems to have confidence issues, when he knows he is getting good minutes he works through the mistakes and is a very good player, when he plays spot minutes his mistakes just keep piling up on him and he is not good.

For some damn reason Lydon’s summer league has been in my head. He looked like a guy who would be a great 4th big for this team. He can shoot, he can block shots, and he sets solid screens. He doesn’t need to be great all around, we just need him to do what he can do for 15 mpg.

Picture this rotation at PF.
Millsap getting 30 mpg to keep him healthy.
Juancho getting 18 mpg at SF and 7 at PF
Lydon getting 11 mpg at PF and 4 at small ball center.

I think that could work well, and we can send Lyles to a place like Brooklyn where Lyles can get steady minutes and develop into a player. We could walk with a decent future 1st and still have a good rotation.

[NuggetsWY]

I expect Lyles to struggle this year, and I truly think if Juancho and Lydon look to be rotation ready, I think he should be traded.
Lyles had a pretty defined role and got minutes in Utah when Favors was out his rookie year, and he played well for a rookie. I remember Utah fans saying he was untouchable. Then Lyles became the 4 big for the Jazz his 2nd year with Gobert and Favors healthier, and suddenly he was struggling again.
Last year when Millsap was out, Lyles put up 14 and 6 on over 60% ts, when Millsap was playing, he was not near the player.
He seems to have confidence issues, when he knows he is getting good minutes he works through the mistakes and is a very good player, when he plays spot minutes his mistakes just keep piling up on him and he is not good.

For some damn reason Lydon’s summer league has been in my head. He looked like a guy who would be a great 4th big for this team. He can shoot, he can block shots, and he sets solid screens. He doesn’t need to be great all around, we just need him to do what he can do for 15 mpg.

Picture this rotation at PF.
Millsap getting 30 mpg to keep him healthy.
Juancho getting 18 mpg at SF and 7 at PF
Lydon getting 11 mpg at PF and 4 at small ball center.

I think that could work well, and we can send Lyles to a place like Brooklyn where Lyles can get steady minutes and develop into a player. We could walk with a decent future 1st and still have a good rotation.

The rotation you suggest is nice, but Malone wants his 9-man rotation. I doubt he'll use a tenth player more than 10 mpg for more than 50 games.

[skywalker33]

I expect Lyles to struggle this year, and I truly think if Juancho and Lydon look to be rotation ready, I think he should be traded.
Lyles had a pretty defined role and got minutes in Utah when Favors was out his rookie year, and he played well for a rookie. I remember Utah fans saying he was untouchable. Then Lyles became the 4 big for the Jazz his 2nd year with Gobert and Favors healthier, and suddenly he was struggling again.
Last year when Millsap was out, Lyles put up 14 and 6 on over 60% ts, when Millsap was playing, he was not near the player.
He seems to have confidence issues, when he knows he is getting good minutes he works through the mistakes and is a very good player, when he plays spot minutes his mistakes just keep piling up on him and he is not good.

For some damn reason Lydon’s summer league has been in my head. He looked like a guy who would be a great 4th big for this team. He can shoot, he can block shots, and he sets solid screens. He doesn’t need to be great all around, we just need him to do what he can do for 15 mpg.

Picture this rotation at PF.
Millsap getting 30 mpg to keep him healthy.
Juancho getting 18 mpg at SF and 7 at PF
Lydon getting 11 mpg at PF and 4 at small ball center.

I think that could work well, and we can send Lyles to a place like Brooklyn where Lyles can get steady minutes and develop into a player. We could walk with a decent future 1st and still have a good rotation.

The rotation you suggest is nice, but Malone wants his 9-man rotation. I doubt he'll use a tenth player more than 10 mpg for more than 50 games.

His 9-man rotation won't lock in until mid-to-late DEC after we've lost a couple games due to his experimentational (indecisive ?) habits, you know Malone can't wait to tinker with his lineups

[TunaFish]

Millsap & Lyles seem great for this year, especially if Malone doesn't use Plumlee with Jokic too much.
Lydon & Vanderbilt don't look to get much time and that'll be OK.

Is Lyles the PF of our future? I'm not convinced but he seems like the best option we have for now.

I'm not convinced Vanderbilt is a starting PF. He's had a couple of injuries and his FG% is a little low and he doesn't appear to be a stretch shooter. But with his rebounding and defense, he'd be a nice bench player.

Can Lydon be a starting PF? Again, it just doesn't seem like. Same with Hernangomez.

Lots of "bench PFs" but after Millsap leaves, we don't appear to have a starter.

This lines up with my view as well. I would add that Millsap looked good at the end of the season but age will be a factor at some point (hopefully not this season). I am guessing that they are looking closely at Lyles as they move further and further towards an offensive system stressing outside shooting. Lydon fits the same mold in terms of skill. Hernangomez will play more at small forward but can slide into the pf. Vanderbilt is an unknown.

If this is the plan then they will have to outscore the opposition while sacrificing defense.

Power forward is a position I think they will target in either free agency or by trade when Millsap departs unless Lyles makes another jump or Lydon surprises.