Evan Fournier emerges, and none too soon
“Miller, for all his veteran savvy, can be a liability on both ends of the floor. The 37 year old slows down the speedy Nuggets, which often derails George Karl’s game script.
More minutes for Fournier means fewer minutes for Miller, who at this point in his career is more effective in a limited role.”
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When the Denver selected the then nineteen year old French player Evan Fournier with the 20th overall pick in the 2012 draft, Nuggets fans uttered a collective “who?”. Only the most obsessive followers of NBA prospects were familiar with Fournier, who most folks assumed would be left to play in Europe for a year or two before joining the Nuggets’ roster. The depth the team already possessed at guard dictated that Fournier’s services wouldn’t be immediately needed.
He has spent the majority of the season on the bench. However, with Ty Lawson sidelines with a torn plantar fascia, Fournier contributed over twenty minutes in last nights blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets at Pepsi Center. Fournier was among six Nuggets in double figures, posting a new career high with nineteen points. The most impressive aspect of the youngster’s performance was his physical presence. He plays bigger than he is. Fournier weighs in at only 205 pounds, but he demonstrated an ability to score in crowd using his hips to muscle Brooklyn’s bigs.
Everything about the way Fournier conducted himself was encouraging. There’s every likelihood that, with only eight games remaining in the regular season, the Nuggets will opt to allow Ty Lawson to rest until the playoffs. If that’s the case, Andre Miller would become the starting point guard down the stretch. Miller, for all his veteran savvy, can be a liability on both ends of the floor. The 37 year old slows down the speedy Nuggets, which often derails George Karl’s game script.
More minutes for Fournier means fewer minutes for Miller, who at this point in his career is more effective in a limited role.
Fournier’s apparent emergence could not have come at a better time for Denver. The Nuggets are currently the third seed headed toward the Western Conference playoffs. They could however tumble as far as fifth if they were let off the throttle. Coach Karl wants to see his team continue winning. Karl told Aaron Lopez of Nuggets.com, “I don’t think we should have anything in our head, except to try and win every game and maybe the last game of the season think about resting the team if everything is solidified. Right now, I want to win them all and continue to keep the edge. “
For the Nuggets to keep their edge with Ty Lawson sidelined they’ll need to replace not only his scoring, but his speed. In other words, Karl cannot lean exclusively on Miller. Fournier offers an alternative. Despite his showing last night, Fournier remains an unfinished product, however. He can be sloppy with possessions and id known to allow defenders to simply take the ball away from him off the dribble.
If he can continue to show improvement and turn the ball over less often Fournier can be a contributor that helps Denver preserve their current playoff status while allowing Ty Lawson some much needed recovery time. The fact that Fournier is on the Nuggets active roster is telling. He clearly made an impression on his coaches during training camp. The Nuggets like him; and now fans can see why. That Denver was smart enough to select him in the first round of the draft says a lot about their scouting department and the management of Masi Ujiri. Like Kenneth Faried before him, Fournier is proving to be a surprisingly effective player at the NBA level.
