Welcome to the second part of the 5 positions, 5 words series. Today we will be focusing on the shooting guard position for the Denver Nuggets. You can check out the other positions here:

Point Guards

Without further ado, here is the word for shooting guard for the Denver Nuggets:

Difficult

There are a lot of reasons why this is a difficult situation. None of the reasons have to do with Arron Afflalo, rather it is those behind him on the depth chart that warrant the confusing label.

[caption id="attachment_313" align="alignright" width="198" caption="Jordan Hamilton didn't receive a lot of minutes in his rookie year. Look for Hamilton to have a bigger role in the rotation next year. (Source: Bleacher report)"][/caption]

First off: it's hard to really tell which Nuggets are technically shooting guards. Corey Brewer and Jordan Hamilton seem to be the most likely candidates. But both of them are on the tall side. Brewer is 6-foot-9 and Hamilton is listed at 6 foot 7 inches. Wilson Chandler also had his opportunity at the shooting guard position in his limited time as well. But for the sake of argument, we will give Hamilton the shooting guard label and Brewer the small forward label. Rudy Fernandez rounds out the group.

Fernandez is confusing in his own right. He arrived in Denver from Dallas despite every suiting up for the Mavericks. He was known as a sharp shooter, but only shot 32.8% from behind the arc. Interestingly enough, Fernandez turned out to be a lot better defender and distributor than advertised.

However, according to the Round Ball Mining Company, the Nuggets did not make a qualifying offer for his services. As a result, Fernandez will not play in Denver last year and could very well end up playing for Real Madrid in Spain.

I personally liked Fernandez, and I would have loved to see what he can do in a full season with the Nuggets. But at the same time, Jordan Hamilton is waiting in the wings.  With a crowded roster, something has to give, and the Nuggets chose Hamilton.

[caption id="attachment_314" align="alignright" width="196" caption="Arron Afflalo had a slow start to the season but really picked things up down the stretch."][/caption]

Finally, let's loop around to the least confusing aspect of the shooting guard position for the Nuggets, Afflalo. Afflalo had an awful start to the season. He averaged 10.2 points per game in December, and Denver fans were starting to wonder if he was worth the money. But Afflalo really kicked things into gear during the final part of the season. He averaged 17.5 points per game in February and 18.7 points per game in March.

Afflalo struggled in the playoffs, but all in all proved that he can be a dominant scorer when necessary. But Afflalo is best known for his defensive abilities, which also weren't apparent at the beginning of the season. Afflalo picked up his defense as well and did a solid job on Kobe Bryant in the playoffs.

The Nuggets also drafted Evan Fournier from France with the 20th pick in the draft. But there will be more on Fournier in the draft analysis.