The $90 million All-Star forward Paul Millsap made his first appearance following a surgery to repair a torn ligament in his wrist. He came off the bench and played limited minutes as he works himself back into game shape, following the lengthy absence. The Nuggets were shocked by the Clippers bench and lost the game they led by 20 points, spoiling his solid output of nine points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes as a reserve.
“Today was a prime example of what we need to do and what we need to be better at,” the four-time All-Star and 2016 NBA All-Defensive team member said (via the Denver Post). “… Trust me, we will get better on the defensive end.”
The Nuggets signed Paul Millsap this past offseason, with a promise of upgrading their young, but talented roster to a challengers level. He averaged 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists before the wrist injury sidelined him 44 games ago in mid-November.
Denver has played well without him, holding the playoff hopes alive in the crowded Western Conference with a 33-28 record (25-19 in his absence). That success without Millsap affords coach Michael Malone the chance to ease Millsap back into the rotation, but Malone has already made some moves to get his team to the desired level.
After seeing the Nuggets offensive efficiency drop to the bottom half of the NBA, Malone tried to channel his team to play with less called sets and more running. With the help of Jokic, Murray, and Harris, the offense started to look like the Nuggets of last season.
Add Millsap to the mix, and you can get something special – in eight games prior to Paul Millsap going down, Denver averaged 112.4 points — including a season-high 146 in a win over New Orleans — and posted a 6-2 record.
The market will be patient to see what kind of an impact he has with the limited minutes (capped at 24 minutes for the time being), so punters should look to be more aggressive and jump on Denver spreads and totals. Millsap is a player that takes great care of his shape and there were no signs of rust during his court stints last night. Even from the bench, the Nuggets really need him at that dual forward position they had most troubles with in his absence. Lyles came through eventually, and Millsap will cut into his minutes, but the extended role will boost his confidence and it’s a win-win for the Nuggets.
We estimate that Denver is 1.2 spread points better with Paul Millsap per 36 minutes, so this return might just give your numbers enough space to work in a bet. As for the totals are concerned, he’s a two-way player, but the Nuggets defense was so miserable at the start of the season that his impact on the defensive end was barely seen. There’s no need to adjust the totals just yet, but keep in mind that he could bring even more to already versatile offense once he rejoins the starting lineup.
The battle in the West is extremely crowded, with as many as 10 teams joggling for 8 spots, and only two of them separated themselves from the pack. Morale boost and calming influence, as well as Millsap’s experience, should help Denver reach its goal, but at this point, it’s anyone’s guess if they’ll have enough to beat the other, equally hot rivals and finish above the line.
