In free company final offseason, when the Denver Nuggets misplaced Bruce Brown and Jeff Inexperienced – two key rotation bench gamers who had been instrumental in Denver’s championship run – it rapidly turned clear that common supervisor Calvin Sales space and his entrance workplace employees had been dedicated to filling the void left behind by that emptiness largely with younger, drafted expertise the Nuggets had been cultivating in-house.
A type of gamers is Christian Braun, who whilst a rookie turned a key contributor in Denver’s title run, together with a formidable efficiency within the Finals towards the Miami Warmth.
One other, Peyton Watson, a extremely athletic 6-foot-8 defensive wing with a 7-foot wingspan who was drafted with the thirtieth choose in 2022 alongside Braun, entered this season as a far much less confirmed commodity. Watson had averaged 8.1 minutes in simply 23 video games his rookie yr, spending a lot of his time within the developmental G League, and rising for stints with the Nuggets principally in direction of the top of the season, and sporadically at that.
However from second one, the Nuggets group was unabashedly excited a couple of promising future for Watson, who was chosen utilizing a choose which Denver acquired by buying and selling JaMychal Inexperienced and a 2027 protected first-round choose to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder.
“With Peyton, he likes to play protection,” Sales space mentioned in his post-draft press convention the summer season he was drafted. “And he’s a basketball junkie, he’s actually clever, which leads me to consider that he has All-Protection potential.”
And whereas that daring prognosis could have appeared exceedingly optimistic on the time, the Nuggets bestowed immense confidence in Watson this season, following by means of on their said dedication to raise his function over time, and totally integrating him into their common rotation as one in all their major bench gamers.
“Peyton Watson, within the final couple weeks of the common season, confirmed glimpses of the participant he has the prospect to be and the potential that he has,” head coach Michael Malone mentioned on media day previous to the beginning of this season.
“Peyton’s gonna get an opportunity to play,” he added, “and I’m excited to observe his development, and the way he handles this chance.”
Up to now, Watson has dealt with that chance fairly adeptly on plenty of fronts, bettering to six.9 factors, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists on .470 taking pictures in response to Basketball Reference, whereas – as anticipated – making his most pronounced impression on the defensive finish of the court docket.
And in no side of Watson’s recreation is his defensive prowess extra seen than his blocks, the place he averages team-high 1.0 rejections a recreation, and his proficiency at defending the rim has earned him the nicknames “P-Swat,” or alternately, “Swatson.”
Not solely do Watson’s rim-protecting capabilities add a dimension to Denver’s protection which has been conspicuously missing lately, however the relentless power and dramatic aptitude of his blocking recreation can electrify residence crowds and be pivotal in swinging video games’ momentum.
One necessary side of that is Watson’s downright fearlessness. Though he comes off the bench, the 2 gamers he has shared essentially the most minutes with after bench guards Braun and Reggie Jackson are Denver’s star duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, that means that Watson has gotten loads of alternatives to face off defensively towards most of the NBA’s prime canines who get matched up towards the Nuggets’ starters.
And whether or not they’re huge wings just like the Lakers’ LeBron James, Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Boston’s Jayson Tatum, and even larger facilities and forwards comparable to New Orleans’ Zion Williamson and Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis, it’s merely not in Watson’s DNA to exhibit any concern, hesitation or trepidation in taking them on full bore.
However whereas his confidence, aggression and sheer athleticism serve Watson properly in shot swatting, his aforementioned intelligence which Sales space cited could also be simply as extremely useful in his execution on blocks.
Particularly, Watson excels at reclaiming possession of the ball for the Nuggets when he blocks pictures, forcing turnovers and sometimes within the course of producing transition offense.
To test on this, I watched all 62 of Watson’s 64 whole blocks this season which can be found at NBA.com, and on a full 39 of them, or 62.9%, the consequence was the Nuggets denying possession to their opponent. (In almost all of those instances that meant Denver getting the ball, although a number of occurred at end-of-quarter buzzers.)
Following Denver’s February 22 blowout win over the Washington Wizards, wherein each Watson and Zeke Nnaji (a extremely adept shot blocker in his personal proper) every had 4 blocks apiece, Malone made some extent of noting this trait, invoking an NBA legend within the course of.
“I believe [shot blocking] is usually a actual momentum changer,” Malone defined. “And it’s humorous, you return to Invoice Russell, and a motive they discuss Invoice Russell being an amazing shot blocker was when he blocked his shot, he stored it inbounds, and that fueled the break. And I believed we had a bunch of these tonight, the place we blocked pictures and we ran off of that.”
“So yeah, everyone likes anyone blocking a shot into the third row and hitting the popcorn girl within the ass, however I’d slightly hold it inbounds and get out and run,” Malone added.
And within the case of Watson’s blocks, many do certainly end in quick break scoring and scoring alternatives, together with some by his personal hand after taking it coast to coast.
One specific methodology Watson regains possession for Denver on his rejections earns him factors in each model and efficient performance: blocking the ball off the backboard and into the palms of teammates.
Though he’s usually dealing with the backboard on these as he approaches from behind on opponents trying to attain, and clearly doesn’t actually have eyes at the back of his head, Watson seems to have a eager consciousness of the place his teammates are situated behind him, and a knack for locating the right angles to deflect it off the glass into pleasant palms. And whereas a few of these might be chalked as much as good luck, there does appear to be an intentionality to many.
One other side of Peyton Watson’s shot blocking school which particularly is useful as a wing who usually finally ends up guarding fellow wings or guards is his talent in blocking away from the rim outdoors the restricted space, on midrange and three-point shot makes an attempt.
Whether or not overlaying a number of floor rapidly on closeouts and catching shooters off guard, or defending extra intently of their area, Watson makes nice use of his lengthy, lengthy wingspan and athleticism in deflecting pictures away from the basket.
And even when Watson doesn’t retain management of the ball in his blocks, swatting it both again into opponents’ palms or out to hit Malone’s metaphorical “popcorn girl” within the bottom, they nonetheless are typically extremely impactful in swinging momentum, demoralizing opponents, and igniting the house followers at Ball Enviornment right into a frenzy.
As that is solely Peyton Watson’s second NBA season, and his first with a full rotation function, it’s too early to declare him the very best wing shot blocker in Nuggets historical past till he establishes a extra full profession resume and demonstrates he can persistently proceed blocking pictures at or above his present degree over a multi-year timeframe.
That mentioned, the early indicators are encouraging that he could actually be on monitor to grow to be simply that, and the numbers again it up. Plugging figures based mostly on his present season (at the least 1.0 blocks per recreation, 60 whole blocks, 2.5 blocks per 100 possessions, and a 4.5% block proportion) right into a search at Stathead, solely 12 gamers in Nuggets historical past have a number of seasons which meet or exceed these standards.
And Peyton Watson is the one participant on that checklist who’s not a middle or energy ahead/heart, setting him other than the notables that the majority would guess make the reduce comparable to Dikembe Mutombo, Marcus Camby and Chris “Birdman” Andersen.
Furthermore, Watson is one in all solely 4 Nuggets gamers to perform this degree of shot blocking within the final 20 seasons, and the primary to take action in six years, becoming a member of Mason Plumlee (2017-18), Jusuf Nurkic (2014-15) and JaVale McGee (2012-13). And contemplating his relative youth and inexperience, it appears extra possible than merely believable that he ought to, by and by, emerge definitively as Denver’s finest wing shot blocker ever as he continues creating.
Within the meantime, the Nuggets will certainly be hoping that Watson might be hovering from the rafters to stuff playoff opponents on the rim and elsewhere as Denver pursues their title protection with a new-look reserve unit in tow, and hopes held excessive that their youthful gamers will assist bridge their current success right into a dynasty.