I see that there are no questions about Brooklyn. I have clearly convinced all of you beyond any articulable doubt that we are a playoff squad. We appreciate your acquiescence and we will make all of your defeats swift and painless.
Haha. Okay, sell me on a Hickson / Koufus front line. I see both as ideally bench players, and not necessarily top-tier bench players at that. How can they help you be a playoff squad?
I would argue that (1) you underrate Koufos, who has quietly been the best center on a very good Nuggets team, and (2) the Hickson that we saw in 2012-2013 has taken a quantum leap forward by learning to pass and by taking the brutally terrible midrange jumper out of his game, thereby improving his true shooting percentage by a whopping 10 points. Both are 24 years old, and have shown considerable year-over-year improvement, and both are well-established at this point as starters.
Hickson, who has started nearly every day for four years, and is only 24 years old, has not played in a system that plays to his strengths. Next year, he will be a Nugget, and we're going to see his high energy and newfound efficiency cement him as a very good starter 4/5. That team, like mine, will capitalize on his finishing and rebounding ability. Hickson's defense has thus far been poor, but it is notable that, outside of Aldridge, his surrounding cast has also been terrible on that side of the ball. Doc Rivers is going to take this rising young veteran who improves his game every year, surround him with strong team defenders, and teach him to play soundly on that side of the ball. That is where his next improvement will come.