DETROIT — Both teams playing in the Motor City on Tuesday were maneuvering their rosters as the trade deadline loomed — one of them more quietly than the other.
The Pistons were hosting, just a few hours after they sent Jaden Ivey to Chicago in a three-team deal that brought back Kevin Huerter, ex-Nugget Dario Saric and a pick swap. The Nuggets had not completed any trades, but they did have a business decision to make. Spencer Jones embarked on their three-game road trip this week with one game of eligibility remaining on his two-way contract and a back-to-back against two of the East’s best awaiting Denver.
With Christian Braun returning from an ankle injury and supplying David Adelman with another body to work with in Detroit, the Nuggets elected to rest Jones on Tuesday and delay his last game 24 hours until New York, sources said. Jones told The Denver Post last week that the Nuggets’ front office has told him he might have to sit out games even if he ends up joining the 15-man roster on a standard contract this month.
Without him, the Nuggets clawed back from a 20-point deficit to get within two late in the fourth quarter, but the Pistons held on for a 124-121 win at Little Caesar’s Arena. A fortuitous shooter’s bounce for Tobias Harris with 1:46 left stretched Detroit’s lead to 115-110 as Denver struggled to land the comeback’s final punch. Moments later, Peyton Watson was a millisecond late to block a Cade Cunningham layup off the backboard, a play that would’ve given Denver a chance to tie while down three.
“The challenge for us right now is with all the things that are happening — people coming back, the minute restrictions — we have to avoid paying attention to that, and we just have to play,” Adelman said. “And deal with it as we go. We’re going to have some clunky moments. The rotation is different. We tried different things tonight. Just trying to fit people into the minutes that can play.”
“It’s a little bit different for us right now,” Nikola Jokic said, “but I think it’s part of the (league).”
The healthy scratch of Jones was essentially a money-saving tactic for Nuggets ownership. Players on two-way deals can be active for up to 50 NBA games in a regular season. Jones may be on the verge of a promotion that would dispense with that limit if the Nuggets can balance their books with a trade by Thursday afternoon. But their primary goal, to get under the luxury tax, is evident in that they’ve gone through half of the season with an open roster spot. Nothing in a rulebook would’ve prevented them from converting Jones’ contract on Tuesday (or earlier) if they wanted him available for Detroit.
Instead, they were operating without a power forward. Aaron Gordon is also sidelined as he recovers from a hamstring strain. Adelman rolled out Braun, Peyton Watson and Jalen Pickett in the starting unit alongside his two stars, foreshadowing a night of finagling. He tried everything from four-guard lineups to a jumbo package.
“I am feeling it out, man. Like, I’m feeling it out every game,” Adelman said. “We walk through stuff in a hotel room, and I pre-suppose lineups and put them out there in their sandals. And then we go play. Then you have to react during the game. And that’s part of the NBA, so there’s no excuses there, either. It’s just, I was trying to find a group that had some rhythm. We found a couple, but the end of the first half just killed us.”
The Pistons (37-12) swept the season series and got under Denver’s skin in the process. Their frontcourt played its usual chippy style, and Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas caused a brief skirmish in the first quarter by putting Isaiah Stewart in a headlock under the basket. Newly minted Pistons All-Star Jalen Duren exchanged shoves with Valanciunas. Both received technical fouls. Valanciunas also picked up a flagrant for the play on Stewart.
By halftime, both head coaches and Pistons guard Duncan Robinson had been handed technicals as well. Jamal Murray and Stewart jawed back and forth a couple of times. Cade Cunningham got into foul trouble in the third frame but also earned 11 free throws himself — a stat that agitated Adelman after the game in contrast to Jokic’s three. In search of a bigger power forward, the first-year head coach started playing Jokic at the four in a double-big lineup with Valanciunas to match Detroit’s size and physicality.
Both centers started the fourth quarter after Denver had trimmed a 20-point deficit back to 13. Julian Strawther chipped in as the rally intensified, lending support on the glass and pushing the pace.
“He was playing aggressive and trying to force the issue a little bit,” Murray. “It was good to see him just get a flow.”
The Nuggets couldn’t buy a bucket early. They missed their first seven 3s while falling behind by double digits and shot 31.8% from the field in the first half. But they were able to linger despite a “weird energy” that Adelman wasn’t pleased with, until a disastrous two-minute stretch to end the half. Three consecutive turnovers — two by Jokic — fueled a 10-0 Pistons run that pushed the lead to 69-50. Detroit scored 26 fast break points on the night, a “ridiculous” number, Adelman said.
“They’re handsy,” said Jokic, who was visibly frustrated by non-calls throughout the night. “They have some really good personnel. … I think the second half was much better for us.
“We had, I’m gonna say, like a good half of basketball.”
Jokic played 33 minutes, another gradual increase in his third game back from a left knee injury. He went for 24 points and 15 rebounds, but he also turned it over five times. Braun logged 25 minutes in just his 15th game of the season, which has been defined by the severe ankle sprain he suffered in November when it was stepped on by James Harden (who was traded to Cleveland during the second quarter of Denver’s game Tuesday).
The Nuggets’ back-to-back Wednesday at Madison Square Garden will test their resilience. They haven’t lost three consecutive games all season, but this is one of the toughest portions of their schedule: the Thunder, Pistons and Knicks in three cities across four days.
“We need to find ways before the break to win some games,” Adelman said. “We’re in a crazy race in the West. I heard a bunch of stuff changed tonight with the trades and all the things that went on. So the race is beginning. You can’t wait for the All-Star break to happen and then join the race. We’ve gone through a lot, but so what?”
Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.
Bennett Durando
Source link
