[aamir543Participant]

Before I begin, in no way am I trying to say McGee needs to be traded and that George Karl isn’t doing a good job, I wish Karl had coached McGee for a couple years before that, because he really has improved this season and is showing flashes of greatness, which is exactly why I made this thread. This guy is averaging 10, 5 and 2 in just 18 minutes this season, and is playing like an absolute beast when he is playing. He’s playing better in the post, improving from the line, and making less trips to the Not Top 10 list. Over the past 5 games he’s averaging 11 and 4 with 3 blocks a game in just 16 minutes per game. And he’s shooting 71.4% from the field in that span. His per 30 minute stats in that span are 20, 7.5 and 6. I know Karl wants to bring him along slowly and likes Kosta Koufas but JaVale is the real deal.

Karl talked about upping his minutes to about 25 a game, that’s been halted due to a calf injury, but I hope he does it soon, JaVale is the perfect example about how a great organization can really help a player’s development, but I also think he needs more minutes to showcase his skills. If you look at his game log you’ll see plenty of games where he doesn’t even play 20 minutes but still scores 15 points. He will be major key to Denver’s playoff hopes, and I hope he plays enough minutes by then to make an impact.

[torontoraptors10Participant]

Totally agree with your point on how organization can develop a player. The Raptors are my favourite team and I’m sometimes afraid that Casey is not developing Valanciunas properly.

[ilike.panochasParticipant]

Ultimately, if the Nuggets wants to take it to the “next level”, Javale will need to be starting and play well as he did last year’s playoffs when they have the Lakers a really tough series. Javale more than held his own against Andrew Bynum in that series. This team is not going far with Koufas as the starting Center.

[r377Participant]

George Karl is a smart man, i bet he has his reasons….

Might be to keep McGee motivated, if he keeps playing and practicing hard, Karl might reward him with extra minutes. He did play very well at times last playoffs

[SiggyParticipant]

Kosta Koufos earned the starting spot out of training camp and he’s done nothing to relinquish it.
Koufos is the better fit with the starting lineup because he’s more steady and is the better defender and rebounder.

Besides, McGee plays better with Andre Miller.

[Ahkasi ClayParticipant]

the only one that can free McGee is himself, he can be as good as he is willing to let himself!

Sakit Sa Ulo

[joecheck88Participant]

Koufus may have done nothing to relinquish his starting role but it is obvious who the better player is between he and McGee. I agree Koufus should keep starting though but McGee needs more minutes. Like the OP said, George Karl was talking about upping his minutes before a recent injury. I think that will happen after the all star break. Javale still needs to rebound better but his role is going to increase a little more to the point that Javale is getting 30+ minutes a game come playoff time.

[SiggyParticipant]

I don’t think it’s obvious at all who’s better. Javale is the rare streaky big who makes spectacular plays. Koufos has been quietly but consistently productive all yr, with better team defense, post defense and rebounding. He does all the little things that that Javale still doesn’t do consistently, like set crushing screens and box out.

That’s why the Nuggets are 10 points better as a team with Koufos on the floor.
http://www.nba.com/advancedstats/team-vs-player.html#Nuggets-vs-Kosta-Koufos|1610612743,201585;year=201213;season=r

The Nuggets are 7 points worse as a team with Javale on the floor.
http://www.nba.com/advancedstats/team-vs-player.html#Nuggets-vs-JaVale-McGee|1610612743,201580;year=201213;season=r

[CynthiaParticipant]

Free Mozgov is more like it. Koufos and McGee get a decent amount of burn, Mozgov doesn’t, but when he does he puts up nice numbers in an extremely short amount of time.

I can’t think of any other teams that actually have 3 legit centers, not to mention all are 7’0-7’1. Typically when you think of a team being stacked at a position it’s guards or forwards, but this team is stacked in Centers.

[Author]

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