The final missing piece?
Philadelphia 76ers v Denver Nuggets | C. Morgan Engel/GettyImages
There have been a lot of positive developments in Denver recently. Nikola Jokic has been playing at an MVP level for yet another season, perhaps playing the best basketball of his illustrious career. Jamal Murray looks as good as he has all season, maybe finally getting healthy and finding a rhythm.
Aaron Gordon has returned from a calf injury and become a super 6th man in a way that has completely revamped the Nuggets’ second unit. Even Russell Westbrook has been revived this season, having his best season in almost a decade and proving to be one of the best value signings of the offseason.
The last thing the Nuggets need to fall into place for the team to reach the next level is their young players coming along and impacting winning. Christian Braun has become a starter this season and raised his two-way game in a way that has worked very well.
Peyton Watson has also stepped up to become the team’s main stopper, coming in and making winning plays, especially on the defensive end. Everything is coming along just as Calvin Booth and the Nuggets hoped and the team is up to 27-16 after winning 11 of their last 14 and they’re within shouting distance of the 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Julian Strawther nets career-high 23 points
And on Tuesday night, the Nuggets third young rotation player had a breakout performance. Julian Strawther scored a career-high 23 points in the Nuggets’ big win over the 76ers. He tied his season high with eight made field goals and set new highs with 5 three-pointers made and 9 attempted.
This was the idea of what Strawther could bring to this team and it’s exactly what they’ve been missing. The Nuggets shoot threes at the lowest volume in the entire league and have still struggled to find consistent bench scoring.
Strawther has found success in a two-man game with Aaron Gordon as they’ve been playing together off the bench. His confidence is clearly growing and he needs to understand he has a green light and should be encouraged to get up 5+ threes every night.
Yeah, Denver really might’ve found something with this Aaron Gordon-Julian Strawther inverted PnR.
Gordon drives, draws two defenders, and kicks to Julian for three. Inverted PnRs put defenders in such unfamiliar positions. pic.twitter.com/3asCGsOGBG
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) January 22, 2025
He is a great offensive player and we saw that in Summer League and the preseason. Now, we are starting to see it in big regular-season moments as well. He has been inconsistent on the defensive end and there have been doubts about whether or not he’d be trusted in Michael Malone’s playoff rotation.
A rising star making some noise around the league 🌟 pic.twitter.com/xIXk2TGj6V
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 22, 2025
But, hopefully, this is a sign of things to come and Strawther is turning a corner. If he can be a reliable microwave scorer and shooter off the bench, that would be the final piece for what the Nuggets need. This would give them one more option for versatility and could be another button for Malone to press in times of need.
It’s just one game, but Strawther has been playing better overall. The team doesn’t need 20+ points from him every night, but seeing that it’s a possibility is a massive positive development for Denver in every way.