It’s tantamount to heresy to say this in the Mile High city, but the Nuggets might actually be a better basketball team without Marcus Camby. Here’s why:

1) Camby’s shot selection. As much as I loved watching Camby put the ball over his shoulder and taking a 25 footer, I can say that many of his shots were ill-advised. While he definitely was able to knock some down, Camby took 11.6 shots per game. That’s 2.5 more shots than J.R. Smith, 5 more shots than Anthony Carter (who shot nearly 46% last season), and only 8 fewer shot attempts than Carmelo. That’s not really appropriate for a guy with such an awkward stroke.

2) Camby’s attitude. Camby earned the nickname “touches” while playing for the Nuggets. According to sports writers that followed the team, Camby demanded that plays be ran for him. When he didn’t get his way, Camby’s defensive and rebounding fell off.

3) Low post defense. Camby, slight for his size, is physically incapable of pushing most 4’s and 5’s out of the low post. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, neither of whom is known for being overly physical, both moved Camby around at will during the playoffs. While Nene is not the rebounder that Camby is, his low-post defense stymied Tim Duncan in the playoffs two years ago. If Nene is healthy, the Nuggets post defense is improved.

4) Camby over-handled the ball. In addition to taking quite a few shots (some bad), Camby also regularly walked the ball up the court. Evidently, Camby envisioned himself as some sort of point guard. Too bad Denver’s fast-break offense is better served by Camby running without the ball.

5) Camby’s shot blocking is over-rated. First of all, Marcus is the first to admit that he wouldn’t block as many shots if he played on a team with better perimeter defense. If Denver’s perimeter defense improves (and it couldn’t get much worse) Camby’s shot blocking would be diminished. Secondly, shot blocking doesn’t always result in a change of possession. About half the time (I don’t have stats unfortunately), Camby’s blocked shots went out of bounds. To be sure, blocked shots effect the confidence of the opposing players. Yet shots blocked out of bounds reset the shot clock to 14 seconds, sometimes giving the opposition an extra possession.

6) Camby is playing on borrowed time. Camby’s injury history all but guarantees he’ll miss 20-30 games this coming season. Why not let him miss those games in L.A.?

Here’s how the math works out in my mind.

1. Camby generated extra possessions by snagging rebounds and blocking shots. 4 or 5 rebounds above average plus 3 blocked shots equals an extra 8 possessions per game? +8
2. Camby reduced Nuggets possessions by taking too many shots and over-handling the ball. At least 2 bad shots and/or fast break possessions lost, and probably more like 4. -3
3. Camby’s inadequate low post defense and below average interior physical presence resulted in easy layups for opposing bigs at least once per half, if not much more (like in the playoffs). -2

My crude math says that Camby’s presence only worked out to an extra 3 or 4 possessions per game. Factor in Marcus’s “touches” attitude (and the impact that had on the team) and it’s possible to say that Denver is no worse without him. They might even be better.