Here’s the Denver Post reporting on Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried, who last season was paid a lot of money to average a modest 12.6 points per game. He did grab 8.9 rebounds per outing, which is even more impressive considering he played just 27.8 minutes per game. But beyond numbers, stronger defense is expected of him, and he knows it.
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Kenneth Faried hears all the noise, but he didn’t need to. He already knew what he had to work on this summer.
“My defense, I’ve focused on that,” Faried said in a phone interview from Johannesburg, where he played in NBA Africa Game 2015 on Saturday. “I’ve been watching film on guys that I consider my toughest matchups, and I’ve been able to dissect them so that when the season comes around I’m able to guard those players — and become the player I want to be, and that’s hopefully defensive player of the year one day and first-team all-defense.”
Faried, a high-energy player, has the raw tools to be a defensive stopper. It will be up to new Nuggets coach Michael Malone to help him get there. What’s new is that Faried acknowledges his defensive shortcomings.
