One of the most compelling takeaways from the Nuggets’ preseason was David Adelman’s willingness to get weird — a quality that escaped them by the end of Michael Malone’s tenure.
Whether that stemmed more from the lack of roster depth or from Malone’s formulaic rotations is up for debate. Either way, the times are a’ changing at Ball Arena. In the span of one exhibition quarter this week, Adelman played a lineup so big that Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic were the three and four, then one so small that Christian Braun and Spencer Jones were the four and five.
“I think you have to be OK with trying things for three minutes,” Adelman said when asked about the tension between healthy experimentation and winning enough games to contend in a crowded Western Conference.
It’s not a self-indulgent urge for him, even if natural curiosity does factor in. As he tries to locate the right balance in his first NBA head coaching job, he’ll be reckoning with Oklahoma City’s supreme shape-shifting ability. The defending champs can play almost any style for any given situation. Their depth is overwhelming. Their challengers — Denver could be the best of them — have no choice but to prepare for battle against that elusiveness.
“Talking to those guys in there, (I tell them), ‘If we throw you in the game for whatever reason, don’t think about why you’re going in the game,’” Adelman said. “‘Just go play as hard as you can. We’ll let you know if it worked.’ … It’s not like we’re practicing for 14 hours a day. We’re not an NFL team that gets six days to script plays and put these different combinations out there. You’ve gotta let them go do it and see what happens, and you can’t freak out if it’s ugly.”
With that in mind, here are five possible lineups the Nuggets could try this season if they ever want to lean dramatically into a specific style or skill set. The goal here is to stretch the limits of Denver’s theoretical adaptability — and have some fun, of course. Don’t freak out if the ideas are ugly.
Jumbo package: Peyton Watson, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic, Jonas Valanciunas.
Keeping in mind that Watson was pretty much their backup point guard this preseason — not to mention that Gordon and Jokic are capable offensive initiators — this feels like the most feasible version of an ultra-big lineup the Nuggets could play without it being far-fetched. The reference point is Houston, where one conceivable starting unit has an average height exceeding 6-foot-10: Amen Thompson (6-7), Kevin Durant (6-11), Jabari Smith (6-11), Alperen Sengun (6-11) and Steven Adams (6-11). For this Nuggets lineup, the average comes out to a pedestrian 6-9, with three capable perimeter defenders to assist the heavy-footed centers, two 40% 3-point shooters to space the floor, and a surplus of play-making talent. Even if Adelman doesn’t go this gargantuan, he is eager to see Jokic and Valanciunas play high-low.
Miniature package: Jalen Pickett, Jamal Murray, Tim Hardaway Jr., Christian Braun, Peyton Watson.
And here we have Watson moved from the one to the five — a position he actually played a handful of times last season under Malone. Why not? (Don’t answer that.) Watson’s athleticism transcends his 6-7, 200-pound frame. He’s a more viable rim protector than Jokic or Valanciunas defensively and can function as a lob threat on offense. Adelman is also a proponent of preserving Murray from the exhausting long-term effects of backcourt pressure by having someone else bring it up. Pickett is undersized but responsible, which should allow the Nuggets to get into half-court sets designed for Murray to catch and go to work from optimal spots on the floor. The sample size was small last season (119 minutes), but Pickett and Murray produced a 19.3 net rating together. Stick Hardaway in the weak-side corner, Braun in the dunker spot, and you’ve got a working five. It’s not too far off from the Spencer Jones-anchored lineup Adelman tried this week. As for rebounding, just pray.
All-defensive lineup: Bruce Brown, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji or DaRon Holmes II.
A fun exercise: Who are the five best defenders on this roster, and can they form a cohesive lineup? Denver’s “all-offense” unit would simply be the starting five, which has a chance to be one of the most effortless scoring machines in NBA history. Defense is obviously a more slippery subject. You can hypothetically put together a switch-everything lineup with two starters and three bench players, choosing between Nnaji, Holmes or maybe even Jones to share the frontcourt with Gordon. Offensively, this group would be messy in all likelihood, but that’s the trade-off. Gordon’s experience as a first option in Orlando could come in handy, at least.
All-offensive second unit: Jamal Murray, Julian Strawther, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas.
How about the best bench offense Denver can assemble without Jokic’s help? (Two starters, maximum.) Nuggets fans might be seeing a lot of Murray and Valanciunas together this year. There’s a two-man game they should be able to develop with time and reps, ideally resembling the point guard’s dynamic with Jokic. This lineup is also heavy on movement shooting to surround Valanciunas. Strawther and Hardaway are probably redundant unless they have a productive defender to help them out in the backcourt. But they can both hang as scorers. Johnson slots in at the four, staggering alongside Murray and running some pick-and-rolls of his own. Defense may be optional.
Youth and Jokic: Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, DaRon Holmes II, Nikola Jokic.
This one’s not particularly bizarre, honestly. But it does stray from the Nuggets’ status quo. They typically don’t play Jokic with four bench players for extended periods of time. In spite of that, he mentioned last season that he enjoys sharing the floor and establishing chemistry with Denver’s younger cast. If it’s scientifically proven that Jokic makes everyone around him better, lineups like this could be one way to deepen a regular-season rotation. In particular, the Nuggets should want to see what Holmes can do as a power forward this year.
