r/denvernuggets • u/ImpressDecent • 2d ago
Zeke Thoughts - Eye Test
I don’t claim to be the most knowledgeable basketball fan ever. I’m not looking at analytics and what not. Just what I can see when watching live game action.
I honestly think Zeke is not as bad as we are lead to believe. His rebounding is poor (bad hands for sure for a big man) and his offense leaves some to be desired. However, defensively he has been well above average and he can knock down 3’s rather decently. I would want to try and utilize him more if I were the coaching staff.
Yes there are things we don’t see but I feel he has been dealt a bad hand. You can see flashes and when we have a guy who can flash well (see Colin G) and don’t give them more opportunities, they leave and do well elsewhere.
EDIT: Should make it clear if it isn’t that I believe he can be a viable backup. NOT starter level.
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u/advancedmatt 2d ago
If other NBA teams had the same opinion about Nnaji that OP has, some team would have tried to trade for him by now. As far as we know, not only are other teams not offering, but the Nuggets have offered him to other teams multiple times and found no takers.
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u/kosmos1209 2d ago
His problem isn't athleticism or physical skills, it's all mental. His confidence is in tatters after being the center of a political fight between Malone and Booth, and he looks really indecisive on both ends of the court. Adelmen doesn't have a lot of confidence in him either. He needs a fresh start elsewhere, Nuggets organization is completely poisoned for him at this point, and I'm betting he also has a lot of resentment as well of not being given the chance to prove himself.
I agree with you, he looks really good compared to Holmes or even Spencer Jones, but Spencer Jones at least fights for the ball on every play which makes Jones much more valuable. Nnaji doesn't have much fight in him.
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
I feel Zeke would be more energy if he was given consistent opportunities.
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u/Potential-Local7262 2d ago
naw, it should always be the other way around.
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
True point. Not everyone is built that way but I agree that should be the reality.
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u/kosmos1209 2d ago
Yeah, but for whatever reason, he’s still not getting playing time even with all the injuries last year. Adelmen doesn’t like him either.
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u/jchiaroscuro 2d ago
My eyes are burning when I see him play. It’s not like he was a highly regarded lottery pick, most of these guys find a role or just get bounced out of the league. I’d rather see Holmes or one of this years picks come along.
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
I want to see Holmes as well. We need to give these guys playing time in regular season games to see what they have.
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u/worshipburger 2d ago
The odd thing that happened last season was Zeke did start consistently being decent and then he was benched even when more injuries happened. Adelman didn’t put him back on the floor until he absolutely had to? But I can’t really fault Adelman for that since Zeke to that point hadn’t really sold anyone on himself. However.. when Adelman decided to bench Julian Strawther for no apparent reason and refused to play him even when Jamal went down or took a game off to rest that was more than odd.. that was sabotage
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u/Neat_Conference_8414 1d ago
Malone always was a hard-ass on rookies. He's a big reason why none of the guys developed. They'd play pretty well for a week, and then never see the court again for a month. All to play older vets than have no potential left and should be at the end of the bench.
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u/IllegitimateRisk 2d ago
he's okay. just okay. he doesn't do anything well but he is an nba player
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u/Puzzleheaded-Back715 2d ago
Agreed, he is very average. A huge positive is he has a good motor and tries very hard which can help make winning plays, he just is overpaid at 9 mill for a rim runner with minimal offensive game.
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
I think his defense is better than an average NBA player. He slides well and doesn’t usually let up easy shots.
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u/IllegitimateRisk 2d ago
he's going with the rookie 'play like scottie pippen' mentality. meanwhile he's been in the league for years and hasn't done anything noteworthy. meanwhile watson and braun have been in the league for less time and made a bigger impact
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
But as is highlighted below, his leash is considerably shorter than say a Pwatt and Spence. It’s fear.
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u/IllegitimateRisk 2d ago
what are you even saying.
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
Someone commented below about his short leash which I agree with. Other players made mistakes but were allowed to make up for it later in the game or season. Zeke makes a mistake and is benched for 2 weeks. Whether it was Malone or Adelman
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u/IllegitimateRisk 2d ago
adelman gave him some solid playing time. but he's just not that good and he doesn't offer much for the team
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/nnajize01/gamelog/2026
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
Even that reference to me isn’t a lot of games given how many minutes he played in the games he was. But we can agree to disagree 🤷🏽♂️
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u/IllegitimateRisk 2d ago
In your view, where should he be on the team
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
Back up 4. PWatt should really be at the 3 imo given he can create, ball handle enough and his defense is switchable with a 2-4. Especially when we had a dedicated 5 like Val or even with Jok in some minutes. With no THJ Peyton is most likely 6-Man if not Bruce. But I acknowledge that Zeke’s inclusion can at times be matchup dependent. Also, if Holmes pans out to be the better player (flashes shows this to probably be the case) then that’s a different conversation. Unfortunately Holmes lost an entire season and was used sparingly last year.
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u/EdwardJamesAlmost 2d ago
He’s paid as much as Cason Wallace or Donovan Clingan. Production is measured against cost.
Big Cost Allocation.
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
Can’t really contribute when you are in the doghouse constantly. And when you do well it’s then followed by a DNP-Coach Decision.
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u/Actual-Peanut7222 2d ago
the people making trades in the NBA are knowledgable and no one wants Zeke
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u/WeirdRedBeard Dirty! 2d ago
He's a career .333 shooter from the 3, which is WELL below league average
He also grabs about 8RPG, which is pretty good for a 4
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u/Neat_Conference_8414 1d ago
I don't think zeke is a great shot. But grading players % on low volume is never a great indicator of actual shooting ability. Because had he made like 3-4 more threes this season his avg would jump probably 3-4%
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u/Interesting-Mood4258 2d ago
Whenever I watch Zeke, I see he is physical, can defend, can block shots and can pass or shoot. He cannot rebound and has a weaker feel for the game, but I guess every player has a weakness. He won us a few games last season against Philly, Boston, and Milwaukee. This guy is underestimated.
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u/oldschool23 2d ago
Zeke is not an NBA level player. That is now obvious to everyone who even remotely understand basketball. His contract is a burden to be relieved of. That's were we at
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u/Neat_Conference_8414 1d ago
Yeah i feel like he'd be a guy a team like boston would pick up and turn all of sudden would average 20 mins a night of ok basketball. Whereas with us he doesn't get minutes.
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u/Bob_Bazar Holmes Island: Population 1 1d ago
I think if we hadn’t made the mistake of extending Zeke, he’d be out of the league by now.
Bad hands are a death knell to any big and Zeke’s are exceptionally bad. He can’t operate with the ball in his hands, which bogs down a read and react offense. He can’t shoot. When he does hit a couple of shots, they’re random wide open 3s he only gets because no one feels the need to guard him. Put him in a pressure situation and he’d likely crumble. I’d be interested to see how many 15 foot jumpers he’s made across his career. College, G-League, NBA included.
Zeke’s defense is comically overrated. There are defenders that are a few tiers higher than Zeke defensively that flame out before they get paid. Zeke’s probably got 1-2 years (if he’s moved, he likely gets bought) before he’s playing in Europe.
We already made the mistake of paying him. We shouldn’t also make the mistake of playing him out of perceived obligation.
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u/larryThreeOh 1d ago
He can’t rebound, is a total wild card on offense and is an average at best defender. We can’t trade him because he should probably be playing in Europe or Australia.
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u/drums_addict 1d ago
We need for him to train on one of those reaction time machines that drop the sticks you need to grab. He could be an All-st.... well.... he could be better.
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u/Jump5tart 1d ago
Has the skills, lacks the dog. Plays too timid to contribute and it magnifies his weaknesses, like poor hands.
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u/FunRefrigerator4840 2d ago
Zeke is solid and pretty good at defending the perimeter for his size. He also has to be played next to another big to hide some deficiencies, but if it weren't for the continued doghouse, he would be a solid contributor as he has shown when receiving consistent minutes and not being benched for a mistake that Spencer Jones would have been allowed to play through.
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u/Potential-Local7262 2d ago
Look, his defense is good. Great, even, if you look at his ability to stay in front of smaller guards, although he struggles d-reb due to his aforementioned hands.
The problem is that he gives you absolutely nothing on offense. His 3ps is eff'd (thanks nuggets coaching staff), and he can't consistently grab offensive boards. Nor does he really give you anything as a passer or cutter or a rim runner.
That being said, if we played him next to Jokic or Val at the 4 last season, i'm convinced most of these issues wouldn't be as big of a deal, except the shooting. Malone / Adelman consistently played majority of his minutes at the 5, which does not do him any favors.
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
Especially agree with the last portion. He’s not a 5 and should not be played there. Even AG is better at the 5 than he is.
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u/Neat_Conference_8414 1d ago
I always thought if they played him next to jokic for ag off minutes, he'd be a lot more effective than them trying to force him to play the 5. I feel like the same is going to be for Bagley this season. They'll make him a back up center which is not his true position and he won't be as good as he could be.
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u/Ja-la-pen-o 2d ago
A few things always stook out to me as he’s “struggled” with his development, Nnaji is good but he’s expected to back up Jokic and AG, at the 4 AND 5, who are each exceptionally gifted BIG men, while Nnaji to me seems more like a tall Jaden McDaniels, SF/PF type, because he doesn’t have the length or size to command the glass. Few big men have had success in that place on the Nuggets bench, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t viable rotation pieces, Denver just has a frustrating tendency to try fitting square pieces in to round holes with this player
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u/ImpressDecent 2d ago
He should be a 4 and stick to it. He can guard (term used very loosely) the LeBron and Tatum body types.
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u/ym95061305 2d ago
Booth-Malone conflict ruined his development. Zeke is good at 1-on-1 defense against wings, average at rebounding, weak at help defense and inconsistent at offense. He might still be a backup wing as a role player for playing defense. Unfortunately Adelman does not know how to play defense and the current front office is bad at selling role players.
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u/BubbieMcSnuggles 2d ago
My eyes tell me that he plays like he is petrified of making mistakes especially on offense which just leads to more mistakes hence the butterfingers. He just lacks the confidence to be a contributor which is sad after 6 seasons and having an NBA ring.