Why DaRon Holmes’ offense fits the Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets selected DaRon Holmes with the 22nd pick in the NBA draft. A long and energetic forward, Holmes has a broad offensive skillset that includes inside and perimeter scoring. While he isn’t the smoothest scorer, his impressive motor fuels a track record of improvement that has turned him into a more talented version of rangy hustle type players like Nic Claxton and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Let’s take a closer look at the skills that will get Holmes on the court as a rookie and the foundation in place could lead to Holmes blossoming for years to come.

Post Seals

Perhaps DaRon Holmes’ best skill is his ability to seal his defender on post-ups and on rolls to the rim. His tireless motor, length, and quickness in tight spaces make him exhausting to fight around. He does a great job of staying active, closing off the initial attack. If the ball rotates or his defender fights around, he then secures that side.

Nikola Jokic is probably the best player in the NBA at finding teammates when they seal their defender. Aaron Gordon is one of the best power forwards in the NBA at sealing his man, a skill that makes him such a dynamic frontcourt partner for the three-time MVP.

Unlike Gordon, Holmes didn’t seem to spend much time in the dunker spot and was allowed to duck in or seal almost every time down. Sealing too often or holding a post-up for too long can clog up the paint.

He’ll have to learn to pick his spots when sharing the court with Jokic and when to get out of the way but it’s nice to see that he has a knack for making his defender fight back and forth when he’s posting and sealing on the block. It will be an immediate weapon and one that can grow alongside Jokic the more they play together.

Drawing contact

One of his best traits is that he isn’t afraid to go at his defender and embraces contact on rebounds as well as on post-ups and drives. He attempted the fourth-most free throws of every player in the NCAA and was a reliable enough 71% from the line, a mark he improved upon every year in college.

Drawing fouls and getting to the line is a trait the Nuggets could desperately use, ranking in the bottom six in free throw attempt rate in five of the last six seasons.

Holmes is especially aggressive going towards the rim against undersized defenders or cross-matches. This is how the Nuggets use Aaron Gordon, whom they rarely post up against other power forwards when Jamal Murray or Jokic are on the court.

The primary downside of his willingness to draw contact is that he gets his shot blocked a fair amount. He’ll have to rewire his assertiveness in the early part of his career, passing up drives and post-ups into larger defenders or against poor spacing or floor balance.

Jump Hooks & Fade Aways

Holmes has a decent jump hook and above-average touch around the rim.

He got pushed away from the basket against bigger defenders. On those plays, he had a tendency to settle for fadeaways, a shot that he will likely need to eliminate from his arsenal.

He has a developing face-up game. It wasn’t a major weapon and I don’t expect that he will have the green light to take this shot early in his career but there is enough of a foundation in place with his footwork and shot mechanics that he should be able to work these shots into his repertoire over time.

Footwork in the post

Holmes has inconsistent footwork in the post and with his back to the basket. As is the case with everything about his game, he seems to be more of the type that has made himself into a weapon, rather than working off of natural feel and movement. On some plays, he just wills his way to a bucket. On others, he uses footwork that is unpolished yet crafty and effective.

He has a decent touch on those plays, capable of finishing with either hand. He shot 67% at the rim last season on 226 attempts.

While his footwork and touch are above average, he still gets himself into awkward positions too often, usually as a result of being too aggressive. This was necessary at Dayton since the team needed him to score. Perhaps the most important question heading into his rookie season is how quickly he can eliminate these types of shots from his game when he joins a team where he will likely be the fourth or fifth option.

PnR

DaRon Holmes had one of the highest Usage Rates in college hoops last season and almost always had the green light to attack his defender 1-on-1 in isolation. The most common way he would get to his spot was by slipping out from a PnR into an empty corner where he could back down his defender with five or six dribbles while his teammates spaced the court.

While he was very effective on these plays in college, he won’t get a lot of opportunity to use so many dribbles early in his career. Cutting these plays out of his game will likely be a challenge for him as he adjusts to a new role but there’s a promising foundation he can build off of in the coming years once he’s established himself as a lower-usage contributor.

He’ll also need to become more comfortable putting pressure on the rim on rolls out of PnR. In college, he seemed to prefer popping behind the three-point line or looking for the pocket pass on the short roll. Part of this is owed to the fact that Dayton didn’t have an elite PnR scoring or passing guard.

Regardless, the Nuggets will need him to become a consistent roller who is enough of a lob threat to bend the defense even when he goes multiple possessions rolling without receiving a pass.

Z-Bounds

One thing I love about DaRon Holmes that I think will translate immediately is how well he rebounds his misses. Like Jokic and Gordon, Holmes is extremely light on his feet and has excellent anticipation for how his misses will come off of the rim. Jokic led the NBA in “z-bounds.” Gordon ranked seventh. Holmes will likely bring this trait to the team as well.

Holmes has the tools to become a better overall offensive rebounder. Right now, he is much better at grabbing his misses than his teammates but learning to play the dunker spot will likely include an uptick in offensive rebounding.

Final thoughts on DaRon Holmes

Holmes has a strong foundation in place to become a versatile offensive weapon, similar to jack-of-all-trade (master of none) type players like Aaron Gordon and Jerami Grant. He also has a skillset that should allow him to find ways to impact the game as a low-usage player right out of the gate. The challenge for him early on will be figuring out which parts of his game the team needs right away and which parts can blossom later as he develops.

Overall, Holmes should be a great fit alongside Jokic. Perhaps more importantly, there is a lot that Holmes can learn from Aaron Gordon. The two players aren’t identical but their skillsets overlap enough that their roles in Denver’s offense should be similar. While Gordon was an immediate fit in the Nuggets’ front court, it took him a couple of years to perfect the art of spacing and cutting from the dunker spot while reducing the amount of post ups and isolations that were part of his offensive identity in Orlando. Holmes would be wise to learn from Gordon and follow suit, expediting his growth as a Jokic-ball player.

Growing into Jokic’s frontcourt running mate would be an excellent goal for DaRon Holmes and one that would be both his best bet for elevating the Nuggets’ roster and earning a substantial payday in his next contract.