Top Five Plays of the NBA 2012-13 Season

Apr 6, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee (34) attempts a dunk over Houston Rockets power forward Donatas Motiejunas (20) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

2) Andre Iguodala/Ty Lawson-JaVale McGee Pick and Roll Randomness 

I maintain that the greatest show in the NBA on a night to night basis is JaVale McGee. He is what would happen if you took an eleven year old kid, hyped him up on twenty pounds worth of sugar, stretched him out to 7 feet, made him super athletic, and stuck him on an NBA basketball court. The youthful freedom in which he approaches the game is fun but also frustrating, especially for Nuggets fans, as his chaotic play gets him into trouble more often than not. One thing he has done very well, in the limited amount he’s done it, has been operating in the pick and roll, where he averaged 1.32 points per possession (good for 8th in the league).

As you can see in the clips, JaVale struggles with picks, treating them as almost a necessary evil before he gets to lunge off toward the basket in the hopes of having a basketball thrown within two miles of his vicinity. And yet when the play is pulled off, it’s the greatest highlight show in sports. Andre Miller is more adept at throwing JaVale lobs in transition and off cuts, but Lawson and Iguodala have the best success with him when he functions in the pick and roll.

If that eleven year old kid ever grows up and learns the fundamentals, he could be a consistent and destructive force in the pick and roll. For now, though, I’m okay with settling for the adolescent approach from him as long as he keeps making chaotic basketball fun.