Bulked-up Zeke Nnaji better suited to handle backup center minutes for Nuggets
Jan. 12—A summer spent in the Nuggets' weight room is paying off for Zeke Nnaji in the winter.
The 10 pounds of muscle added in the offseason have served multiple purposes. Strengthening the ankles that forced Nnaji to miss stretches of his first two NBA seasons was one goal. Another was preparing Nnaji to hold up if the Nuggets wanted, or needed, to use him as a backup center.
"I put on a lot of muscle, knowing that I would probably be playing more '5' this year," Nnaji said after the Nuggets' 126-97 win over the Suns on Wednesday. "I don't feel like I've been worn down or anything like that. I feel like I'm ready for this, and I'm enjoying the opportunity."
The backup center minutes have swung Nnaji's way to start the new year, and he rewarded Michael Malone's decision with a 15-point performance against Phoenix. Nnaji made 6 of 9 shots, including his first 3-pointer since late November.
"It felt good. All the shots that I took felt good, even though not all of them went in," Nnaji said.
"My confidence hasn't wavered in any aspect of my game."
The 22-year-old, as of Monday, shot 40.7% from 3-point range as a rookie and made 46.3% from deep last season. Wednesday's make got him up to 18.2% from 3 in his third season, though that might be due to a different role. The Nuggets used Nnaji as a power forward tasked with stretching the floor for most of his first two seasons. Now, he's playing as a small-ball five.
Sign Up for Pikes Peak 5
Game analysis and insights from The Gazette sports staff including columns by Woody Paige and Paul Klee.
Sign Up
View all of our newsletters.
Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
View all of our newsletters.
There's less waiting for catch-and-shoot opportunities in the corner and more screening and rolling like a traditional center. Despite the downturn in his 3-point percentage, the third-year forward is shooting 60% from the field, a significant improvement over his first (48.1%) and second (51.6%) seasons with the Nuggets.
"I'm a lot stronger, so I can handle the physicality down there," Nnaji said. "I just feel more confident and comfortable attacking the rim and being able to finish."
Less has changed on defense. Nnaji remains a rare center capable of switching onto guards on the perimeter and holding his own. He demonstrated as much by blocking Lakers guards Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder in isolation. Wednesday, Nnaji swatted Duane Washington Jr.'s layup attempt off the backboard.
"He's so versatile. I feel like some guys, when they think he's getting switched on them, I feel like they think it's going to be an easy bucket or easy matchup for them. But, nah, he's really sitting down and guarding," Bones Hyland said Wednesday. "You can see when guards get to the rim, he's getting it off the glass. If they try to shoot, he's contesting. He's making it a hard shot."
Nnaji credited his primary competition for the back-up center minutes, DeAndre Jordan, with helping him learn some of the finer points of center play — screen-setting, playing drop coverage against the pick-and-roll and finding pockets of space in opposing defenses. It's a different role than the one he's played most of his career, but the increased physicality isn't as much of an issue thanks to the added muscle.
"They got me in a lot of different things. Sometimes I'll be in coverage like a traditional '5.' Other times, I'll be switching with the guards, so I just got to make sure that I know, whoever I'm guarding, what their tendencies are," Nnaji said.
"I think doing that helps me be an anchor in that second unit."
