Despite catching the injury plague last season, the Denver Nuggets finished in third place in the Western Conference with a 54-28 record. Sure, they flamed out in the first round of the playoffs, disappointing when it really mattered, but head coach David Adelman showed that he is capable of leading this franchise in his first year.
However, even though Adelman led the NBA’s top offense and took the Nuggets to 54 wins, he needs some experienced help on his bench. Hence, why the Nuggets have reportedly hired veteran NBA coach Dave Joerger to be Adelman’s top assistant, per ESPN‘s Shams Charania.
“Longtime NBA coach Dave Joerger has agreed on a deal to become the lead assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets on head coach David Adelman’s staff, sources tell ESPN,” Charania reported on Monday night.
Simply put, Joerger brings experience. Sure, Adelman impressed in his first full season as Denver’s head coach, but with an improved staff around him, the sky is the limit for the 45-year-old. Joerger was an NBA head coach for six years, three with the Memphis Grizzlies and three with the Sacramento Kings, and has since shuffled between the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant.
With the Grizzlies, Joerger made three playoff appearances in three years with a 147-99 overall record and one total playoff series win. Of course, his tenure with the Kings was a bit different, with zero playoff appearances in three seasons and a 98-148 overall record, but in his defense, very few coaches have been able to succeed with that franchise.
Most importantly, Joerger brings a defensive mindset to Denver. In his first season as head coach of the Grizzlies, they had the NBA’s eighth-ranked defense. In his second season, they jumped up to the league’s second-best defense. As a top assistant for the past five seasons, he has had a top-12 defense in the league in four of them.
The Nuggets finished 21st in the NBA in defensive rating in each of the past two seasons. It was such a weakness that even having the top-ranked offense was not enough to make up for it at times. Bringing in an experienced coach who knows how to help defensively is exactly what Adelman needed on his staff.
Adelman now has a talented staff behind him, led by Joerger and former NBA players Jared Dudley and JJ Barea. With such a talented roster, led by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and All-Star guard Jamal Murray, an improved coaching staff, and a willingness to dive further into the luxury tax, the Nuggets have no excuses to fall short of expectations next season.
Of course, one coach is not going to fix everything for the Nuggets, as the players still need to buy in defensively for things to work in their favor, but this addition is certainly a step in the right direction.
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