Counting the cost of Koufos' Improvement

Call it ‘most improved’ or ‘breakout player of the year’ or whatever label you wish, however for me this season’s most surprising player has been Denver’s Kosta Koufos.

If you were to tell me at the start of the season that Koufos was to have started 46 games and played over 1,000 minutes before the All-Star break, I would have either said you were crazy or that something terrible had happened to the Nuggets.

While you may or may not be insane, nothing at all has gone wrong with Denver. In fact, the Nuggets and their oddly assembled team are really hitting their straps at the moment closing to just 6.5 division games of Oklahoma City despite a horrific schedule where only Cleveland and Indiana have had to travel more.

Koufos has emerged as the starting centre option for George Karl and has repaid that faith with rebounding and blocking numbers which rank him second on the team while being the only player on the Nuggets roster who can boast a field goal percentage in excess of 60%.

Despite being a first round pick in the 2008 draft, Koufos has really struggled over his first 4 seasons in the NBA, never playing more than 800 minutes in any of his 3 stops, failing each time to contribute more than 5.5 points per night.

It was however his 7 foot frame which kept him relevant in the league coupled with strong rebounding numbers which have mostly hovered around the 10 mark per 36 minutes of play.

Yet it was getting those minutes which Koufos struggled with and which he finally seems to have achieved this season in Denver.

Koufos has become a key element in Denver’s most used line-up (teamed with Faried, Gallinari, Iguodala and Lawson) dwarfing the second most utilised line-up by more than 450 minutes.

While Koufos’ highlight real mightn’t nearly look as impressive as teammate JaVale McGee (who mind you earns $7 million more per season than Koufos) the former Ohio State product has emerged as an almost indispensible part of the team.

With Koufos on the floor the Nuggets concede 102.4 points per 100 possessions. When he sits, that number rises to 108.7.

Interestingly, his presence on offence would also seem to provide a spurt to Denver, and while he submits just 8 points per night, the team’s numbers thrive with him on the court with Denver scoring 112.2 per 100 possessions. It slips 7 points with him on the bench.

It should therefore be no surprise Koufos represents an overall +194 points when he’s on the court as opposed to off it. That number incidentally ranks him 21^st overall in the NBA.

For me these numbers are enough for Koufos to receive some sort of award, though I’m just not sure what it should be named. Whatever it is, I’m sure the Nuggets or Koufos won’t be too concerned.