Nuggets expect Paul Millsap to anchor their defense

This offseason, the Denver Nuggets made a major a splash in free agency with the acquisition of All-Star power forward Paul Millsap on a three-year, $90...

This offseason, the Denver Nuggets made a major a splash in free agency with the acquisition of All-Star power forward Paul Millsap on a three-year, $90 million deal.

According to NBA.com’s Christopher Dempsey, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone believes that Millsap will have a huge impact on the defensive end of the floor.

“From an experience standpoint, and the fact that he’s a guy that I think will be able to communicate and help us on the defensive end, kind of be an anchor to our defense, a traffic cop and kind of orchestrate where guys are supposed to be. He’s a guy that embraces the challenge. When you want to improve defensively it starts with each individual taking on the responsibility of saying ‘I’m going to own my matchup tonight.’ I think Paul does that. His IQ and experience alone are going to help us tremendously.”

Millsap has been one of the most underrated stars in the league over the last several seasons. During this time, he has developed into quite a dependable player on both ends of the floor. Millsap has shown plenty of versatility being able to play both forward positions along with averaging 1.0 blocks and a 1.3 steals per game for his NBA career.

The 32-year-old will come in and be the leading veteran presence on the team full of young talent. He has proven to be just that during the last four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks helping reach the playoffs in each campaign.

This could be a tremendous opportunity for Millsap to not only make a huge impact on the court on both ends of the floor but also off it.