Written by Jonathan Peter on Dec. 22, 2022.
If Nikola Jokic is on the court, the Denver Nuggets have proven to be one of the best teams in the NBA. The only problem is that he doesn’t play 48 minutes a night.
The Nuggets look like one of the worst teams in the league without Jokic. With the two-time MVP only averaging 33 minutes per game, the Nuggets are incredibly vulnerable to bleeding points during the 15 minutes without him.
This has been a common occurrence for the Nuggets throughout Jokic’s career. They are incredible with him on the court, and terrible when he is on the bench. This season, the Nuggets have the depth to help diminish this issue.
To Coach Malone’s credit, he has started to implement more staggered units, leaving at least one starter in at all times. With Michael Porter Jr. returning on Friday against the Trail Blazers, this strategy should continue to work. But Denver needs to start strategizing in some different ways to get the most out of this roster.
Give Bones Minutes with the Starters
Much has been placed on the shoulders of young Bones Hyland this season. During the majority of his minutes, he has to captain the second unit by generating everything on offense for them. This isn’t an easy task for Hyland, and it has manifested in him having the worst plus-minus on the team at -121.
Lineups with Hyland are also very poor defensively. But the issue is a little deeper than it seems on the surface. If shots aren’t falling, Bones is far less engaged on defense. The opposite is true too. If Bones is playing well on offense, his defense gets better. That’s why it should be a priority to get him minutes with the starters.
The solution is simple. Malone has been consistent with subbing Jamal Murray out fairly early in the game, around 5-6 minutes into the first quarter. But he subs in someone who isn’t Bones. It was Vlatko Cancar for a few games, then it was Christian Braun, but it should probably be Hyland to fill in at point guard.
Every single player benefits when sharing the court with Jokic, and it could definitely benefit Bones. They have displayed the chemistry of playing off each other and the game is a lot simpler for Hyland if he has Jokic there with him.
In an ideal world, Hyland gets his opening stint with the starters when he subs in place of Murray. This can generate easy looks for Bones, taking some pressure off of him that is normally there with a mostly bench lineup. This is a good way for his confidence to build and his feel for each game to improve. It also doesn’t hurt if Murray plays a little bit less each night because of his knee soreness.
Don’t be afraid to switch lineups around
The Nuggets’ shorthanded win against Memphis proves this point the best. Malone had to depend on his bench to give the team decent minutes and it worked! He turned to Christian Braun to start in the absence of Murray and MPJ. Zeke Nnaji and Cancar played some good minutes as well. The Nuggets had their best win of the season against the Grizzlies.
The irony from this game was that Malone had to rely on players he normally would not turn too. And we can only hope he realized something from this result.
There is no need for Denver to have a rigid 9 or 10 man rotation every game. They have the pieces to stay flexible and adjust based on who they are playing against. There are nights when Denver needs veterans to get playing time, but there are also plenty of matchups where they could use youth, athleticism, and hustle. It truly is a luxury to have a roster where you can tinker with different options and Malone needs to maximize it.
Leadership
This is not truly related to the rest of this post, but it deserves to be talked about. The Nuggets accomplished a lot this offseason. Not only did they improve their roster, but they brought in quality veterans.
DeAndre Jordan has been someone who has received a lot of grief from anyone who watches the Nuggets, including myself. His play has not been something to write home about by any means. But it is obvious that he is a great teammate. He is constantly coaching up his younger teammates and encouraging them. This has been obvious if you catch a game on TV or in person.
Bruce Brown has filled in at nearly every position for Denver due to injury and he has done more than anybody can ask of him. He brings energy every single game and is the ultimate competitor. The Nuggets are lucky to have him and we are lucky to witness his play.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the championship player the Nuggets needed. He deserves his flowers for being able to scale his game for whatever Denver needs on any given night. He knocks down timely shots, plays well defensively, and rarely takes a play off.
It is also noteworthy how he battles too. During Sunday’s game against the Hornets, he got a pretty bad leg injury after colliding with an opponent. He was helped to the locker room, but finished the game and played on Tuesday against Memphis. The Nuggets don’t force players to play through injury, he could’ve taken both games off. But he didn’t. His toughness is an example to the rest of the team and it’s the kind of mentality they need to inherit if they are serious about winning a championship.
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The Nuggets take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at Ball Arena. It might be the first time the Nuggets have been fully healthy for quite some time. It should be a good one.
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