ReportWire

Tag: peyton watson

  • Nuggets sit out Spencer Jones, play without a power forward in loss to Pistons

    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.”

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Short-handed Nuggets blown out in fourth quarter, lose to Hawks

    The short-handed Nuggets’ silver linings playbook: hang around, drill some timely 3-pointers and control the glass — even without a true center in the paint.

    It worked for three quarters Friday night, but the Nuggets, playing at home for the first time since Christmas Day, simply didn’t have enough talent on the floor to hold off Atlanta.

    The Hawks, taking advantage of 19 Denver turnovers on the night, used a fourth-quarter surge to run away with an 110-87 victory.

    It was Atlanta’s first win in Denver since 2019.

    An eight-point surge, sparked by 3-pointers by Tim Hardaway Jr. and Hunter Tyson, gave the Nuggets a 75-71 lead late in the third quarter, and the fans were blowing the lid off Ball Arena. But Onyeka Okongwu canned a 27-foot, 3-point, momentum-changing jumpshot to cut Denver’s lead to 75-74.

    That was the beginning of the end. Atlanta outscored the Nuggets 36-12 in the final 12 minutes. Plus, the Nuggets’ scrappiness from earlier in the game evaporated, in part because they are a tired team after a long, seven-game road trip.

    “I saw a really, really tired group,” coach David Adelman said. “That’s going to happen in the NBA, (coming back) from a seven-game road trip. They gave it everything they had in the third quarter to get back into it. But it does happen in the NBA. We know that. No excuses, ‘Blah, blah, blah,’ but it does happen.”

    The Nuggets trotted out the unlikely starting lineup of Hunter Tyson, Peyton Watson, DaRon Holmes II, Christian Braun and Jalen Pickett. Guard Jamal Murray, who racked up 33 assists in Denver’s two gutsy wins to end their East Coast road trip, was given the night off while dealing with illness and an ankle injury. An injury bug has been running through the Nuggets’ locker room for about three weeks.

    Star center Nikola Jokic was in attendance, dressed nattily in a grey suit. But Jokic, out since Dec. 29 with a hyperextended knee and bone bruise, could only cheer from the bench. The Nuggets don’t want to rush him back, but a return before the end of January hasn’t been ruled out.

    Patrick Saunders

    Source link

  • Denver Nuggets finish marathon road trip with another gutsy win over Celtics

    BOSTON — Finishing their seven-game road trip with a losing record wasn’t what the Nuggets had in mind, but under the circumstances, they’ll happily take 3-4.

    Less undermanned than they were in Philadelphia but still fending without a traditional center, the Nuggets completed their Eastern Conference marathon with a 114-110 win over the Celtics on Wednesday.

    Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, left, wrestles for the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jordan Walsh, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

    Jamal Murray went for 22 points, 17 assists and only two turnovers. Peyton Watson led the team in scoring with 30 points on a 6-for-7 night from 3-point range. Jalen Pickett and Zeke Nnaji earned another opportunity to play in David Adelman’s closing lineup, fresh off their heroic performances Monday at Philly.

    And Denver assembled a 14-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter for the second straight game, putting away the East’s second-place Celtics (23-13). All three teams the Nuggets (25-12) defeated on their road trip are top-five seeds in the conference.

    Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 33, but on 29 shot attempts against a variety of coverages. Boston kept pressing and fouling in the last minute, shaving an 11-point deficit to three before Murray clinched the game with a late free throw.

    A road trip that seemed doomed after a loss to the Nets on Sunday ended with two straight surprising wins.

    After entering halftime tied at 58 for the second consecutive game, offense dried up for the Nuggets in the third quarter. They missed 11 straight shots during a six-minute scoreless stint and fell behind, 72-63. Then Murray buried a 3-pointer out of a timeout and found Tim Hardaway Jr. for another in transition the next possession. Suddenly, it was a one-score game again, and Denver was on its way to a 13-2 run.

    Anfernee Simons was the Celtics’ antidote. He hit a couple of 3s while Brown was on the bench to take them into the fourth with an 82-79 lead and Denver’s non-Murray minutes looming.

    Pickett, scoreless in the first three stanzas, helped weather the storm with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from Aaron Gordon and a floater in the pick-and-roll. Murray came in for Hardaway after only a four-minute rest.

    The longer the game wore on, the more the Nuggets felt their size disadvantage on the glass. Celtics center Neemias Queta secured 20 rebounds, eight of them in the first three minutes and change of the fourth. Boston compiled 27 second-chance points and won the rebounding battle by eight.

    Like they did in Brooklyn, the Nuggets used Aaron Gordon off the bench in a sub pattern conducive to his minutes restriction that enabled him to be on the court when Murray wasn’t. Gordon said after his return from a hamstring injury that he felt a step slow on defense, and that was the case again on a few possessions in Boston. Still, he left an imprint with 12 points and six rebounds. He played 23 minutes, staying in the same range as last Sunday.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Inside the Nuggets’ most improbable win in years: ‘I was giving MVPs buckets out there’

    PHILADELPHIA — These are the stories nine Nuggets bench players and their coach will tell decades from now about a peculiar basketball game in Philadelphia.

    It was a random enough game, one of 82 on a Monday in January, that it will fade from collective memory eventually. Just not from theirs. David Adelman will tell the story of “one of the best NBA wins I’ve ever been a part of in my life,” as he described it in the locker room, his stoic demeanor giving way to emotion that might’ve been verging on tears. “That was (freaking) special, man.”

    The final in overtime: Nuggets 125, 76ers 124.

    He’ll reminisce about strategizing for a seemingly insurmountable matchup without seven of his usual rotation players, without his entire starting lineup, without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. He’ll tell the story of his staff’s edict to “keep five guys in the paint and try to win the ball,” because the Nuggets didn’t have a healthy center, and they were playing against one with an MVP trophy. He’ll recount how he urged them to “play fast” and hunt easy buckets to avoid the limitations of a half-court offense. How he had no choice but to use all nine available players, including two who knew only garbage time in the NBA until a few days earlier.

    He’ll compare it to a February 2020 win over Utah, where the Nuggets had only seven guys at their disposal, also on the second night of a back-to-back. But one of the seven was Jokic.

    “This one is different,” Adelman said. “This one is unique, because our best player didn’t play. … When they’re older, 20 years from now, they’ll probably grab a beer and talk about this game.”

    When Nuggets coach David Adelman was 10, Erik Spoelstra knew he was destined for greatness

    Bruce Brown will tell the story of his game-winner that never actually went through the net. It was a fitting climax, first requiring the Nuggets to get a defensive stop while they were down one point with a six-second clock differential in overtime. They collapsed on 76ers rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe in the lane. Peyton Watson disrupted his driving layup. Spencer Jones blocked Joel Embiid’s tip-in attempt, tumbling over Edgecombe. While the bodies hit the floor, Brown was waiting at the free-throw line. The ball caromed to him for a one-man fast break.

    Keep five guys in the paint and try to win the ball. Play fast. “I didn’t have to call a timeout,” Adelman said. Embiid tried to chase Brown down for a block, but the ball had already touched the backboard when the Nuggets’ nemesis got to it. Goaltending was called with 5.3 seconds left.

    “I was in the perfect position,” Brown said. “I knew everyone was in the paint, trying to go rebound. I was just like, I’m going. There was only one person back.”

    He’ll tell the story of human nature. How it worked to Denver’s advantage. How he’s sure that a Philadelphia squad with Embiid, Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George in the lineup overlooked this game after winning four in a row. How Brown could hardly blame them because he’s been doing this long enough to know that it’s almost unavoidable in an 82-game season. He was the most experienced player available for the Nuggets. Their other eight players had combined for 94 NBA starts before Philadelphia, and only 45 before this season.

    “People are expecting us to lose. We have nothing to lose, right?” Brown thought. “Go out there and hoop. We’ve been on the other side before, where other teams sit people out, and the same thing happens. So I knew they were probably gonna take us a little light. … When I’m on the other side, sometimes that happens, right? The other team just comes out playing extremely hard, and you’re like, eh, bench guys; they’re not the starters.”

    Jalen Pickett will tell the story of how he quieted his older brother. “He’s my biggest critic,” the 6-foot-2 point guard said, “so I can’t wait to see what he says tonight.” They don’t get to see each other often during the NBA season. This was an exception, a reunion in Philly. Pickett, who finished his college career at Penn State, scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Nuggets. He added five rebounds and seven assists.

    “He was just absolutely in control of this basketball game,” Adelman said. “With all those great players on that court, he was the guy tonight.”

    Pickett’s first three years of pro hoops have been an emotional roller coaster. Drafted in the second round in 2023, he became a focal point of the tension between former general manager Calvin Booth and coach Michael Malone. Palace intrigue encroached on his confidence at times. But a 7-for-11 outside-shooting performance in Pennsylvania? Three step-back 3s over the 7-foot Embiid? It was the best Pickett has felt on a basketball court since “probably back in college, having the ball every possession.” He’ll tell the story of the Nuggets’ nickname for one night: “We were calling ourselves the Denver G League.”

    Hunter Tyson will tell the story of his go-ahead 4-point play, the crux of a 14-0 fourth-quarter run after Denver trailed 98-89 with 11 minutes to go. He scored half of his 14 points during that run. Perhaps no sequence was more crucial to the momentum than his contested rebound and pull-up 3-pointer in transition, which he buried while getting fouled. “We were just a bunch of dogs tonight,” he said afterward.

    He’ll tell the story of the bench’s comradery and patience. Tyson was drafted five spots after Pickett in 2023. Seven of Denver’s nine available players have suited up for the Grand Rapids Gold, a developmental G League affiliate. Eight of the nine were either drafted by the Nuggets outside of the top 20, or signed by the Nuggets out of college as undrafted free agents. Before this game, Tyson had played 50 total minutes in the first 35 contests of the season.

    “He might be our hardest worker,” Pickett said.

    “We’re blessed with the opportunity to be in the NBA, to be in this position. So I really try to keep a good perspective about things,” Tyson said. “And maybe even if I’m not playing as much as I want, just try and get a little better each day.”

    He’ll tell the story of how that patience was a virtue on the final play of overtime, when Maxey released a potential game-winning floater. It threatened the three hours of maximum effort Denver had devoted. But it rolled off the rim as time expired, igniting a spontaneous celebration of hugs.

    “Dude, I swear it sat there forever,” Tyson said, laughing. “I was really glad it didn’t go in.”

    Zeke Nnaji will tell the story of Adelman’s relentless encouragement, which Nnaji says dates back months before the one game when it was most necessary. “He says that we’re so deep, we’re so talented, that on a random night, it could be anyone’s night. He’s constantly hammering that message home,” Nnaji said.

    “I think it’s really DA. … He believed. And we all believed.”

    Nnaji is the third-longest tenured Nugget behind Jokic and Murray, but his four-year, $32 million contract has been widely ridiculed as a waste of money on a player who mostly rides the bench. For at least one night, none of that mattered. Nnaji was Embiid’s equal, amassing 21 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks off the bench as Denver’s fourth-string center. He’ll tell the story of how it felt like a “normal” game, if only because the reserves are so accustomed to playing pickup together on the practice court. They need the reps.

    “We play with each other so much,” he said. “Especially when everyone (in the starting lineup) is healthy, we’re always playing with each other. … Opportunities like this are so rare.”

    Adelman will tell the story of Denver’s pregame shootaround someday, once he can get through it without choking up. “This morning, walking through (the plan) with nine people,” he said, “it was really special.” He had to stop himself there.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nuggets start game on 19-0 run, hold off Utah Jazz in bounce-back win

    The Nuggets might’ve been guilty of coasting Monday, but they could afford to coast.

    Scoring the first 19 points of the game and leading by 25 after the first quarter, Denver bounced back from its largest loss of the season with a 135-112 blowout win over the Jazz at Ball Arena.

    The Nuggets (21-7) haven’t lost consecutive games yet this year. They’re about to play 10 of their next 13 on the road, including a back-to-back Tuesday in Dallas.

    Jamal Murray led all scorers with 27 on Monday, but this was a comprehensive team win. Peyton Watson added 20 points on nine shots in his return from a trunk injury that sidelined him for the last two games. Cam Johnson made all six of his 3-pointers. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double five minutes into the third quarter, on his way to 14 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.

    Utah pushed the deficit inside of 20 points a couple of times, but Denver’s dominant start was more than enough to handle business against a division foe.

    Jokic started the onslaught with a pair of jump shots. Then Murray and Watson joined in. Watson reached double figures about five minutes into the game. It took Utah another three minutes after that to get to 10 as a team.

    Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets makes a three pointer over Keyonte George (3) of the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

    The Nuggets scored 15 fast-break points in the first quarter alone. They shot 9 of 14 from deep and assisted on 13 of their 15 total made shots. The Jazz put up nine more field goal attempts than Denver in the frame but still trailed 40-15 when the dust settled.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nikola Jokic passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most assists by center in NBA history as Nuggets beat Magic

    For his latest trick, Nikola Jokic dribbled into oncoming traffic and escaped unscathed.

    Sometimes after he reels in a defensive rebound, the Nuggets center prefers to launch an aerial attack with one of his long outlet passes. This time, he brought the ball with him up on his usual route up the middle of the floor. Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. trailed him by a step. Up ahead, Tyus Jones veered into his lane from the left, sensing an opportunity to pick the pocket of a lumbering big man.

    But Jokic is nimble. Before Jones could cut across his front side, he anticipated the attempted swipe and transferred his dribbling hand with a behind-the-back move that shouldn’t have looked so graceful. Jones whiffed. Carter caught up, but Jokic decelerated to allow him to pass. Then the newly minted best passing center of all time went behind the back again — this time, a dime to Jamal Murray, who finished the play with a lefty floater.

    Denver’s stars were just showing off at that point in the third quarter of a 126-115 win over the Magic that wasn’t always so smooth-sailing.

    DENVER , CO – DECEMBER 18: Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets passes behind his back as Tyus Jones (2) of the Orlando Magic watches during the third quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

    It was a monumental night. At 30 years old and 302 days, Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday for the most assists by a center in NBA history. Coming into the game, all he needed was six to match Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 5,660. He finished the evening with 13, highlighting a 23-point, 11-rebound triple-double.

    “For those of us that love the history of the game, that one should be wrote about and talked about, and that should be a national story,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Because that’s passing a guy that you could argue — if you just want to go by generations and not, ‘Who’s the best player of all time?’ and all the talk-talk stuff — Kareem is in the conversation. Look at his MVPs. Look at the winning. And our guy tonight from Denver just passed him in a category.”

    “This is a time that I can be able to look back and appreciate all the years I’ve had to play this game with him,” Murray said. “It’s special. Passing Kareem in anything is pretty cool. So I think it just speaks to his greatness and how unselfish he is.”

    Jokic has also passed other Hall of Famers including Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson on the all-time list this season, now ranking 50th overall in career assists. Next up for him to catch is another legendary passer, Larry Bird. Jokic is 28 away from tying him.

    “I always say the assist makes two people happy (instead of one). My coach ‘Deki,’ he always said that,” Jokic said Thursday, paying homage to the late Golden State Warriors and Mega Basket coach Dejan Milojevic.

    “Maybe it’s not a splashy pass or whatever,” the three-time MVP continued, “but I think when you make the right play, you’re going to feel good about yourself.”

    Adelman was especially adamant about the historical significance of the occasion. He gave Jokic the game ball in Denver’s locker room after the win.

    “It’s such a cool thing, because it’s Kareem, who was passed by LeBron (James) as the all-time leading scorer, which puts in perspective who Nikola passed,” Adelman said. “So it’s a celebration of both people. It’s somebody that completely changed the game. The sky hook. The longevity. … I feel like in the modern era, we talk about Tom Brady and all these people. But go look at Kareem. The guy changed his name while he played. The guy plays 20-plus years and, until the very end, was impactful on teams that went to the Finals. So for Nikola to pass him, I think, says a lot. And if we’re going to celebrate what LeBron did, (we should celebrate this also). And I know it’s a different kind of thing because it’s a center, it’s a position. I’ll just keep saying it. Just don’t get tired of this, because it’s unique.”

    Jokic is also closing in on Oscar Robertson for second all-time in triple-doubles. Thursday was his 177th, bringing him within four of the iconic guard. He became the first center in league history to average a triple-double last season, and he’s on pace to do so again this year with 29.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game.

    Orlando called a timeout after Jokic and Murray combined for that saucy transition bucket in the third quarter. As they sauntered to the huddle, Nuggets assistant coaches Ognjen Stojakovic and JJ Barea could only laugh at the duo’s skill and panache.

    DENVER , CO - DECEMBER 18: Assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic laughs as the Orlando Magic take a timeout during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 126-115 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
    DENVER , CO – DECEMBER 18: Assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic laughs as the Orlando Magic take a timeout during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 126-115 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

    “That’s how kind of we made our staple in that second unit growing up, was just the give-and-go,” Murray said of Jokic’s passing. “… A lot of give-and-go, and you could see his court vision and his fluidity.”

    The Nuggets did most of their work Thursday during an astonishing second quarter. They flipped a 47-33 deficit with a 35-7 run that only took the last 6:26 of the first half. Murray scored 20 of his 32 points in the frame. Reserve point guard Jalen Pickett ignited the comeback and was a plus-26 in eight minutes of playing time that quarter.

    Both teams were short-handed at Ball Arena. Orlando was fending without Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Denver was down three of its best defenders with Peyton Watson (right trunk contusion) ruled out shortly before tip, joining Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon on the shelf.

    In Watson’s place, Bruce Brown started his first game as a Denver Nugget since April 9, 2023. David Adelman used 10 of his 11 available players, including Julian Strawther, who was cleared to play earlier this week after missing a month with a back injury.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • As Nuggets offense thrives, Jonas Valanciunas quips: ‘Setting a good screen is selfish’

    To screen or not to screen is not a question in Denver.

    To roll and perchance to score, now there’s the appeal.

    First-year coach David Adelman doesn’t deal lightly in superlatives, so it was notable when he recently described Denver’s roster as “the best Nuggets screening team we’ve had in a long time.”

    But he and one of his most prolific screeners did have an amusing difference of opinion about the nature of setting a good screen — the implication of it.

    “Guys (are) giving themselves up. … Making the effort to get a hit for somebody else to allow them to have success,” Adelman raved last week. “Sometimes the assist total, 30, is great. But you look back and you look at the screen-assist numbers and what creates offense behind that, it’s an unselfish thing that guys in the NBA don’t all want to do.”

    Adelman listed names, crediting almost half of Denver’s roster for contributing: Bruce Brown, Peyton Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Spencer Jones. Centers Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas. The biggest bodies, obviously, are often the heftiest screeners.

    “Our team, for whatever reason this year,” Adelman said, “has been very successful at doing it.”

    Valanciunas has a reason.

    “You know, setting a good screen is selfish,” he said. “Because you’re gonna be open. I’m a selfish guy. Setting good screens.”

    Disclaimer: At least half of what the Lithuanian big man says is tongue-in-cheek to some extent, and he even laughed at his own comment in this case.

    But the humor in his voice didn’t take away from the sliver of truth to his words. Adelman agreed on Monday night before the Nuggets hosted the Houston Rockets.

    “I think it was (Hall of Famer) Chris Mullin that said, ‘I want to be the best screener on the team because I want to shoot the most shots.’ It makes a lot of sense,” Adelman said. “If you (set a) rip screen correctly and you cause confusion, you get to shoot. If you’re a big that sets screens, you create the pocket. The ball finds you (in the pick-and-roll).

    “Same thing with a guy like Jamal (Murray). If you set a flare screen, a lot of times, two (defenders) are gonna go with him. And that means you’re the guy that benefits. Peyton gets dunks every other game that way. So yeah, there is something to that.”

    The Nuggets have long been particularly adept at using their guards as screeners. Christian Braun, who didn’t make the list of shoutouts from Adelman in his initial comment, has mastered the art of when and how to release from a screen. He often reads the defense and slips to the basket for easy layups and dunks, courtesy of assists from a distributor like Jokic, Murray or Aaron Gordon.

    Hardaway has frequently benefited from being the “weakest” link in three-man actions with Jokic and Murray, stepping out to the 3-point line after setting a screen and launching open shots when the defense fixates on Denver’s stars.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • As Aaron Gordon seeks second opinions on hamstring injury, Nuggets brace for impact

    That shadow over the court was Aaron Gordon’s. Suddenly, the Nuggets felt his absence as painfully as their opponents usually feel his presence.

    He would have been perfect for a crunch-time possession late Saturday night and the unenviable task of guarding DeMar DeRozan with a game on the line.

    David Adelman instead asked for one stop from Spencer Jones, the eager 24-year-old wing who has prospered as a defensive specialist on a two-way contract.

    He had started the game in place of the injured Gordon as well, but this was a step up in stakes. The Nuggets trailed 123-120 after a successful two-for-one bucket with 29 seconds to go, allowing them to play out a defensive possession instead of fouling. They had no margin for error, but they had a chance.

    Jones does have one glaring flaw in his defensive game: He’s foul-prone. And against a savvy veteran scorer like DeRozan, discipline with hand placement is especially vital. Jones didn’t pass the assignment this time. He reached into the cookie jar, and DeRozan immediately drew the contact while burying an improbable midrange jumper. Ballgame.

    Gordon and the Nuggets are seeking second opinions on the severity of his right hamstring strain before determining how much time he’ll miss, Adelman said Saturday, 24 hours after Gordon slipped on a drive to the basket in Houston and then gingerly walked off the court. The injury could result in another prolonged absence for a Nuggets starter, with Christian Braun already on the shelf for the next five weeks.

    “We’re trying to make sure we get the correct answer to make sure we’re doing the right thing,” Adelman said. “… Obviously, that was concerning last night with Aaron.”

    The Nuggets are bracing for impact. Hunter Tyson played first-half rotation minutes in their 128-123 loss to Sacramento. Zeke Nnaji started last Wednesday at New Orleans when Gordon’s hamstring sent him a warning sign. DaRon Holmes II was called up from the G League on Saturday.

    And Jones was a major variable in the defensive equation of replacing Gordon during Denver’s back-to-back this weekend. He was impressive in Houston, matching up on a full range of players from Reed Sheppard to Alperen Sengun.

    On Saturday, he was a minus-18.

    “I’m concerned about anybody guarding DeRozan,” Adelman said when asked whether he was concerned about the foul potential of the Jones matchup. “He’ll learn from that. He got his hand in there. That’s what DeMar does. He’s always been an artist with that. He’s one of the best scorers in the modern era. A lot of it is because of that, and of course, it comes at a really key time. So Spence will learn from it. I have nothing but full confidence in him.”

    Baptism by fire is the only way sometimes, in Adelman’s view. After spending weeks lauding his team’s depth, the injury bug is forcing him to use it even more.

    “We’re going through this process with a couple of guys out, really three guys out,” he said, referring also to Julian Strawther’s recent back pain that has kept him inactive the last four games. “So we want to see what each guy can do. We played Jalen (Pickett) a little bit. We started him (against Indiana). Zeke started in New Orleans. We wanted to give Hunter a little bit of run.

    “As we go through this time, if guys are out — and some are, as you know — we’ll try different lineups to see what we can do. … I can’t play an eight-and-a-half man rotation every night. So I’ll get creative with it as best I can.”

    Denver’s three healthy starters showed out on the second night of the back-to-back. Nikola Jokic amassed 44 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Murray continued to be a steady source of offense, with 23 points and nine assists to just one turnover. Cam Johnson continued to do all the little things that prompted Adelman to defend him when he was slumping — and also went for his first 20-point game as a Nugget.

    But with Peyton Watson and Jones slotted in as starters, the bench got outscored 48-20. In a home loss to the Bulls last Monday, the margin was an even uglier 66-9. That happened with Gordon in the lineup.

    “I think 12-4, it’s not the real picture. I think we are not that good,” Jokic said Saturday, laying it on perhaps a little too thick. “I think we need to be much better if we want to do something big. Yes, we’ve played better. We look better. But I think we need to consistently, every night, every possession.”

    “Those guys are really important to what we do. They’re very talented players, CB and AG,” Johnson added. “Very gritty guys. Contribute a lot to the game. But it’s part of the league, you know? It’s part of the game. Eighty-two games is a long season. Sometimes, things happen. I think we have the depth that we can (trust the) next man up and rally and find ways to maximize the guys available on the floor.”

    If Gordon sits out an extended period that corresponds with Braun’s recovery, getting stops will be Denver’s biggest bugaboo. The team’s defensive rating when those two players share the floor is an elite 109.5 in 241 minutes. It’s 118.9 when they’re both off the floor. The Kings turned the ball over only six times on Saturday. Russell Westbrook scored 15 fourth-quarter points to fuel their win, which snapped an eight-game skid.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Without Aaron Gordon, Nuggets escape New Orleans with win in Zion Williamson’s return

    NEW ORLEANS — Life was detected in the most cavernous building in the NBA for a few minutes on Wednesday, as the Pelicans flew to an early 13-point lead over their lethargic visitors.

    Life was briefly detected again toward the end of the proceedings, when the Pelicans sliced a 19-point deficit to six after Nikola Jokic fouled out. There might have even been noise from the uninhabited upper deck.

    But the Nuggets escaped Smoothie King Center in the end with a 125-118 win, buoyed by a mostly solid night of defense and Peyton Watson’s career-high 32 points.

    In his second game starting for Christian Braun, Watson finished with a 13-for-19 double-double. Jokic added 28 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists on another night with two starters missing.

    And Denver (11-3) finished the game with a frontcourt of Zeke Nnaji and Jonas Valanciunas after Jokic’s disqualification. Valanciunas knocked down a pair of clutch 15-footers to fend off a late comeback from the Pelicans (2-13).

    From the start, this was a game layered with more intrigue than the records indicated. Zion Williamson, the Pelicans’ explosive but aloof star forward, was cleared to play after missing the last eight games. Denver’s Aaron Gordon was a last-minute scratch from the lineup for hamstring injury management, which sidelined him for one other game earlier this season.

    These developments were related. Gordon has been described by Nuggets coach David Adelman as one of “only a few human beings walking around that can deal with Zion Williamson.” Adelman mirrored their minutes when the Pelicans visited Denver three weeks ago, determined to force Williamson to play against that matchup.

    Without Gordon, Nnaji was enlisted as the starting power forward. He had been out of the rotation entirely to start the season.

    The idea had a sound precedent, though. Gordon was out when the Nuggets hosted New Orleans in February, and former coach Michael Malone also started Nnaji for the occasion. Williamson scored an inefficient 14 points on 13 shots that day, as Trey Murphy III had to shoulder more of the Pelicans’ offensive burden. As a team, they went 4 for 11 on shots defended by Nnaji.

    This time, even with two rim protectors on the floor in Nnaji and Watson, the Pelicans scored 18 points in the paint (and 23 total) in the first eight minutes. It didn’t help that Jokic committed four turnovers before he made a shot, surrendering easy transition opportunities to a struggling team that has played faster since firing coach Willie Green last week.

    Out of an early Adelman timeout, the Nuggets gave up two consecutive fast breaks that ended with New Orleans missing the initial layup only to score on a second chance.

    “They had a coaching change,” Adelman said pregame. “New energy. … So this is a totally different challenge.”

    Jokic finally kick-started the Nuggets with five straight points after they fell behind 23-10. He was on his way to a triple-double by the end of the third quarter — those are the norm when he faces New Orleans — but the upstart Pels showed him multiple defenders and made him work all night. On offense, he finished with nine turnovers. On defense, rookie Derik Queen wasn’t afraid to attack him off the dribble.

    Drafted 13th overall after a controversial trade in June, Queen is the latest new-gen prospect whose play style is clearly in Jokic’s lineage. He was responsible for Colorado State’s heartbreaking NCAA Tournament loss at the buzzer last March. Now, a franchise desperate for future answers wants to develop him into a hub of half-court offense. He paced the Pels on Wednesday with 30 points, nine boards and four assists.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nikola Jokic dominates in Nuggets’ 122-112 win over Heat — Denver stays perfect at home

    Altitude might be regaining its status as a safe haven for the Nuggets.

    Obliging Miami’s invitation to play fast-paced, somewhat chaotic basketball, Denver held off the Heat for a 122-112 win Wednesday and improved to 4-0 this season at Ball Arena. They were a lackluster 26-15 at home last year.

    Nikola Jokic had a triple-double by the end of a bizarre and experimental third quarter, en route to 33 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists. He and his teammates benefitted from the departure of Heat star Bam Adebayo, who suffered a foot injury early in the game. With Kel’el Ware and Keshad Johnson splitting minutes at center, Denver out-rebounded Miami 68-44 for a 22-8 advantage in second-chance points and 62-42 edge in the paint.

    That and the tempo at which Miami plays helped the Nuggets (5-2) pile on 68 first-half points despite shooting only 43% from the floor and 6 for 23 outside the arc. They also added 12 points in the first minute and 46 seconds of the third quarter, briefly flirting with a 150-point pace.

    But every time the Nuggets threatened to blow the game open, they started to get messy. Miami shaved a 17-point deficit back to 10 with seven minutes to go, causing David Adelman to call timeout and retrieve his security blanket from the bench. On a sloppier night for the Jamal Murray-led second unit, Jokic steadied the ship. Denver won his minutes by 18 and lost those without him by eight.

    Murray struggled to make his shots for the second consecutive game, going 4 of 15. But he accepted a pick-me-up from Aaron Gordon, who scored 24 points and was on the emphatic receiving end of a few Jokic dimes. Tim Hardaway Jr. also added 18 points on a 4-for-9 night from 3-point range, continuing his hot start to the season.

    The 33-year-old guard, who signed a veteran minimum contract with the Nuggets, is shooting 44.7% from three after seven games. He’s playing more minutes than anybody else off Denver’s bench.

    The Nuggets have now won nine consecutive regular-season home games against Miami. Other than Game 2 of the NBA Finals in 2023, their last home loss to the Heat was Nov. 30, 2016.

    Miami did, however, hand the Nuggets their first deficit at Ball Arena this season when Norman Powell buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key against their zone on the first possession of the game. He went for a team-leading 23 points, but the Heat did most of their leading in the first quarter. Denver trailed by more than seven and never trailed after halftime.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nuggets Podcast: Jamal Murray goes off, Christian Braun gets paid and Aaron Gordon goes hyphy

    In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat writer Bennett Durando and sports editor Matt Schubert reconvene after the first week of the regular season. Among the topics discussed:

    Subscribe to the podcast

    SoundCloud | iTunes | Spotify | YouTube Music | RSS

    Producer: AAron Ontiveroz
    Music: “The Last Dragons” by Schama Noel

    Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.

    Matt Schubert, Bennett Durando, AAron Ontiveroz

    Source link

  • David Adelman on Nuggets’ debut of Nikola Jokic-Jonas Valanciunas lineup: ‘It was hilarious to watch it on tape’

    In one of the most peculiar sights of the decade so far for hard-core Nuggets fans, Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas played hot potato.

    It was Sunday in Los Angeles, in the middle of Denver’s third preseason game. Peyton Watson was having trouble feeding Jokic in the high post, so Valanciunas flashed to the top of the key to give Watson an outlet.

    The Lithuanian center collected the ball and quickly passed it to the Serbian center — the original intended target. But Jokic had limited options with both Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac sitting back in the paint, unconcerned by the 3-point threat of Valanciunas. Jokic immediately passed back out to the open Valanciunas, who reluctantly fired away.

    Yes, the Nuggets were playing two centers together, as first-time coach David Adelman promised before training camp. Their 102-94 win over the Clippers marked the preseason debut of their new double-big look, with the three-time MVP center Jokic essentially playing power forward.

    And yes, the floor spacing looked a little funky at times. Adelman could only chuckle about it later.

    “I thought it was hilarious to watch it on tape,” he said Tuesday before the Nuggets hosted the Chicago Bulls. “We haven’t had a ton of time (practicing with) those guys. They’ve scripted together, but they haven’t played together. But it’s kind of like, rip the Band-Aid off and just see what happens.”

    That’s precisely what preseason basketball is for, Adelman will attest. Denver played only five offensive possessions with Jokic and Valanciunas on the floor together that night, scoring four points for an offensive rating of 80.

    But again, note the minuscule sample size and the lack of practice time devoted to this particular lineup so far.

    “If they end up playing together a lot, we’ll slowly but surely add a package for those two guys,” Adelman said. “And not just for them, but to make the other three guys comfortable. I’ve made this point about Houston. Offensively, with the two bigs, (Alperen) Sengun was the point person, and (Steven) Adams just crushed the glass. So it’s like, our personalities are a little bit different. Val can crash the glass, but he’s also skilled. So I have to find a way to get those guys comfortable in space so they’re not right on top of each other.”

    It wasn’t all bad on Sunday night, either. A timeout was called in the middle of the short stint, allowing Adelman to draw up a set “ATO” play using both big men. Jokic set a screen to bring Christian Braun up to the ball, then a second screen under the basket to get Valanciunas coming across to Braun’s side of the floor. Los Angeles switched that second screen, making the entry pass to Valanciunas difficult but allowing Jokic to flash to the foul line. He knocked down an open jumper from there.

    “The ATO was great,” Adelman said. “We got them organized with the high-low, and that’s gonna be effective. I don’t know how people will handle that. I’m sure they’ll come up with something.”

    The Rockets are a nice template to study after they discovered resounding success with Sengun and Adams last year, but double-big lineups have been a growing trend around the league for longer than that. Adelman is nothing if not an experimenter, and he has expressed an earnest curiosity all preseason about how opponents will guard Denver’s version of the twin-towers look.

    The problem might be at the defensive end. There, too, Adelman is drawing inspiration from Houston by trying a zone scheme with both centers next to each other at the bottom. On Sunday, he placed Valanciunas in the middle and Jokic on the edge, forcing him to defend from the corner to the wing on a couple of possessions.

    Adelman pointed out on Tuesday that he put Jokic in that same location in the zone a few times during the 2025 playoffs, which allowed Aaron Gordon to play the middle and defend pick-and-rolls.

    “I thought we did a really good job as a team defense behind him. … You tilt a little bit more,” Adelman said. “If he ends up with a quality offensive player, wing player, you bring that second defender over a little bit more, as opposed to if it was, I don’t know, Peyton Watson down there. So a little bit of a difference, but not much. And he’s just so smart with his angles, he’ll always force the ball back to where we want it to go.”

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nuggets vs. Clippers: Christian Braun, Peyton Watson adding to their game in preseason

    The Nuggets improved to 2-1 this preseason with a 102-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night at Intuit Dome. Here are our three initial observations.

    David Adelman takes off training wheels

    The Nuggets have reached the phase of the preseason where they feel ready to try more stuff. After using a full-bench lineup for the majority of second-unit minutes in the first two exhibitions — and subsequently struggling against ball pressure — they went to a Jamal Murray stagger Sunday.

    Notably, that meant taking out Murray for Tim Hardaway Jr. as their earliest substitution, a sign of David Adelman’s trust in Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon to initiate offense without a traditional point guard on the floor. It could be a sensible rotation template. Hardaway seems best suited to share most of his minutes with Jokic and benefit from the resulting open 3-point looks, while Murray’s ball-in-hand burst and authority are qualities the second unit needs. The star guard has also been highly engaged at the defensive end this preseason.

    Adelman also briefly went to a double-big lineup with Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas for the first time. They screened for each other off the ball in a couple of actions and played at the bottom of a zone together on defense. Schematically, Denver did a lot of stunting, tried out some zone looks and defended the ball more aggressively. (The last part landed the Clippers in the bonus regularly.)

    Rookie extension candidates showing out

    With less than two weeks left to sign rookie-scale extensions with Denver, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson are both making their presence felt this preseason. Braun followed up an 8-for-8 shooting performance by contributing 11 more points and three assists in Los Angeles.

    He went 4 for 5 from the floor and registered the best plus-minus in Denver’s starting lineup (plus-nine). Not only does Braun’s spot-up 3-pointer look more polished than ever, but he continues to hint at new layers to his game. In the first quarter Sunday, he drove for a contested layup as a pick-and-roll ball-handler with Jokic.

    Watson is also on the ball way more frequently than he was in his first two years, bringing it up and running some pick-and-rolls with Valanciunas. He’s always been an underrated passer, but that skill has mostly functioned as connective tissue on the baseline. His play-making could be central to the second unit this season.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nuggets vs. Raptors preseason takeaways: Beating pressure needs to be Denver’s priority

    Instant observations as the Nuggets defeated the Raptors 112-108 in their second preseason game Monday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

    More like it

    Denver’s starters looked a little rusty as a unit in their first preseason minutes together Saturday. Two days later, the rust was gone for the most part. Turnovers still piled up — Nikola Jokic committed six — but ball movement was generally more fluid and crisp.

    Peyton Watson and Christian Braun made smart reads as connectors (Watson started for Aaron Gordon, who took the night off for maintenance). Cam Johnson played on the ball a bit more than he did in the first exhibition. On an early possession, he recognized that no entry pass to Jokic was available, used his dribble to put pressure on the rim instead, kicked out to Watson, then relocated for an open catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.

    And Jokic was in full experimentation mode. One of his most avant-garde passes was a side-armed, no-look fastball curling around the baseline to successfully reach Johnson in the corner. (He missed the 3.) Another was a reverse over-the-head attempt to find a cutter in stride, but that one was nowhere close to a completion. That’s what the preseason is for.

    Pressure release search

    The Nuggets finished at an extraordinary clip in Vancouver. They were shooting over 60% from the floor for most of the game, including an 8-for-8 performance from Braun (19 points, three 3s), a 5-for-5 night from Jokic and a mini-collection of tough 3s off the dribble from Jamal Murray, still the preseason MVP so far.

    Starting plays, not finishing them, is the tricky part right now. Especially when Murray isn’t on the floor.

    Toronto showed full-court pressure most of the night, and Denver’s backups often struggled to get the ball up the floor and initiate offense cleanly. Five bench players turned the ball over multiple times, led by Bruce Brown’s four. He might just need some time to reacclimate to his point guard role with the Nuggets, but handling intense ball pressure has been a collective issue for the bench so far. Can Jalen Pickett be a consistent answer? Julian Strawther? Even Peyton Watson is handling the ball more than ever through two games.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nuggets begin training camp with emphasis on defensive intensity: ‘Blow teams out a little more’

    SAN DIEGO — Aaron Gordon telegraphed the prevailing ethos of Nuggets training camp the day before it began.

    Prompted about balancing his focus between offense and defense after a breakout year shooting the 3-pointer, Gordon volleyed back a counterpoint: There will be no balance.

    “I’m gonna just turn up on defense,” the power forward said. “We have so much talent on the offensive side, I’m not even really worried about it.”

    Defensive intensity has since developed into the defining characteristic of Denver’s first two days together as a team. The first play of the first practice Tuesday resulted in a collision that forced two-way wing Spencer Jones to get stitches. Jamal Murray told reporters Wednesday that turnovers have been an obstacle while trying to get into an organized half-court offense. Bruce Brown said he and fellow bench player Peyton Watson have been picking up full-court to wreak havoc on the starters.

    In the modern NBA, defense is vegetables. Especially for a team that has grown overly dependent on its effortless scoring efficiency over the years.

    The Nuggets are eating their vegetables this week. Keeping the diet for a full season will be the tough part.

    “I think defense sometimes in our league is so hard that it’s not how you drill it,” first-year coach David Adelman said. “It’s just, do you want to do it? It really is. … I would love to see our defense get better. If our offense takes a little step back, we’ll be fine. To have the depth we have, there’s no excuse (not) to play extremely hard. Put your hands on people. Not worrying about being in foul trouble like we’ve had to do in the past. So it’s a different way of looking at the game, and we have to demand it every day.”

    Adelman was primarily responsible for Denver’s offense before his promotion this year. The Nuggets ranked no worse than seventh at that end of the floor during his eight seasons as an assistant coach.

    But his emphasis has been on defensive accountability and schematic variety since he took over for Michael Malone. The Nuggets ranked unusually low in defensive rating for a championship-winning team back in 2022-23 (15th in the NBA) and regressed to 21st last season — their first as a bottom-10 defense since 2017-18. That was the year before their first playoff appearance with Nikola Jokic.

    “Better communication between the players right now, just trying to focus on rotations and everybody covering for each other,” Murray said. “It doesn’t have to be perfect, but as long as guys are talking and trying to put themselves in the right spots, that’s what it is. Defense is reactionary.”

    “I think we’ve always had a good frame for defense,” said Christian Braun, who will match up against star guards when Denver plays within that man-to-man framework. “We’ve always had a good idea. … If we can get to a point where we’re playing at the playoff level every single night, we’re not trying to outscore teams, I think that’ll be good for us. Try to blow teams out a little more this year.”

    The “frame” involves Jokic playing up the floor against pick-and-rolls while a “low man” rotates from the weak-side corner to prevent the roller from scoring an easy layup or dunk — at its best, setting up a series of high-energy help rotations around the perimeter. Problem is, the scramble mindset can grow exhausting, and Jokic isn’t always effective enough at deterring the ball-handler at the level of the screen. When Adelman took over as interim head coach in April, he started making adjustments more frequently, such as stationing Jokic farther down the floor or zoning up.

    Now Jared Dudley has been hired to run the defense, and even if the base scheme remains the same, Adelman has labeled himself a believer in zone. He thinks if the Nuggets work at it more consistently, they can use it more often during the regular season.

    “(Dudley) kind of started talking to me in the summer about the defense,” Brown said. “We’re just being more physical, picking up (the ball-handler at) three-quarters court, depending obviously on who you are. Just being more physical and being more assertive.”

    Indeed, Nuggets role players have been venturing into the backcourt at training camp to apply extra pressure, to ratchet up intensity. Pressing consistently throughout an 82-game regular season is unsustainable — Adelman knows that — but the concept has its merits in a low-stakes preseason setting.

    “It’s good in a competitive way, and I think if guys can do it, they should be doing it, if you’re not playing a lot of minutes,” Adelman said. “But I also think because we have so many lead ball-handlers on this team — not just Jamal — they’re going to get picked up. So it’s great practice for a guy like Peyton Watson who can initiate offense. Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, Jamal, Jalen (Pickett). All these guys.”

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Renck: No Michael Malone. No MPJ. No excuses for Nuggets, Nikola Jokic to not win another title

    MPJ with a mic is OMG. Michael Malone remains an angry emoji.

    And without these two, the Nuggets are no longer bitter and a whole lot better.

    This is not a reset. It is a cleansing of negative vibes, paranoia and a bench that was thinner than Flat Stanley.

    When last season ended, there was a feeling the Nuggets were going to run it back, throwing their arms in the air and asking coach David Adelman to sprinkle pixie dust on an aging roster increasingly defined by injuries and a lack of versatility.

    Four months later, that’s all changed.

    The Nuggets hired two general managers, Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer, who made a trade that immediately restored title expectations. Those have only grown stronger with the unfortunate season-ending injury to Houston’s Fred VanVleet, the possibility of mental and physical fatigue in OKC, and the inclusion of six Nuggets on ESPN’s NBA Rank Top 100 released this week.

    This is the deepest team Jokic has ever played with, and it’s the best chance he will have to win another title in Denver.

    Sure, Jokic, who was No. 1 on the aforementioned list, has four more years left of his prime. But he will never have another prime opportunity like this.

    He has Jonas Valanciunas, ESPN’s No. 87, as his backup. Are you kidding me? Valanciunas will deliver double-doubles. The previous backups for Jokic were lucky to deliver double-figure minutes. Jokic, yes, Jokic, will be fresh for the playoffs.

    Everything has fallen into place this offseason as the Nuggets prepare to hold their media day on Monday, starting with the subtractions.

    Multiple things can be true when discussing Michael Porter Jr. and Malone.

    Troy Renck

    Source link

  • Nikola Jokic triple-double leads Nuggets to second straight overtime win on road

    Nikola Jokic triple-double leads Nuggets to second straight overtime win on road

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. — To get their first win of the season, the Nuggets almost had to sacrifice their second.

    Michael Malone knew the risk he was taking. It narrowly paid off Monday night in Toronto with an overtime breakthrough. But the physical strain on his starters was visible 24 hours later as they instantly struggled to defend the perimeter against a team widely projected to be the worst in the NBA.

    The Nuggets allowed 40 first-quarter points and fell behind by as many as 17 in the second before they revived themselves again for a 144-139 win over the Nets on Tuesday — again, in overtime.

    Nikola Jokic lifted his team with another masterpiece: 29 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists on 9-of-16 shooting. In a deja vu sequence down by three at the end of regulation, the Nuggets opted to go for two points with 33.8 seconds left. Malone called for a Jokic post-up, like Monday, which Jokic easily executed, like Monday. Then, like Monday, the Nuggets’ opponent missed a free throw, allowing them a chance to tie it in the final seconds without needing a three. Again, Denver dialed up a Jokic post-up.

    “We are trying to get there to see, are they gonna double?” the center said.

    Brooklyn didn’t. The three-time MVP backed his way to an effortless baby hook with nine ticks left.

    “They doubled him a lot tonight,” Malone said. “This was more, they waited for him to dribble the ball and then the double came. I’m so happy I get to coach Nikola because I can’t imagine game-planning for guarding that guy.”

    The only difference between their back-to-back magic acts: This time, the Nuggets left enough time to give up a wide-open corner three as time expired. Dorian Finney-Smith clanked it.

    And again, the starting lineup found itself logging extra hours at the office. Malone had already gone to an eight-man rotation in the second half of the Toronto game.

    “Obviously we found ourselves in a game last night that we kind of shortened our rotation up a little bit in the second half, feeling the pressure of trying to get the first win of the season,” he said before opening tip at Barclays Center. “And when you look at the box score after the game, especially going into the second night of a back-to-back in Brooklyn, you have your starters all at or near 40 minutes. And that’s not sustainable. We can’t do that. Game three, it was cool, man. Let’s get our first win, kind of take a deep breath. But that’s not sustainable.”

    His foresight was probably more immediate than he hoped. The Nets shot 12 of 24 from beyond the arc in the first half. When they weren’t launching, Denver’s defenders took the bait anyway, allowing drivers to get behind them and playing catch-up on rotations. After another rough bench stint, Brooklyn led 47-30 with 9:42 remaining in the half.

    The Nuggets’ collective redemption arrived in the form of a snarling, sharpshooting Russell Westbrook about an hour later. He had already been the best version of himself in the first half, zipping brilliant entry passes to Jokic and bullying his way to the foul line with the second unit (then converting the free throws). But on the last possession of the third quarter, with Denver trailing 99-93, he stepped into just his second 3-point make of the season. On the first possession of the fourth, he drove and kicked to Peyton Watson for a corner three. Tie game.

    His next pull-up 3-point attempt, ill-advised or not, gave him 22 points on 12 shots and capped a 13-2 run. It was 106-101, Denver.

    Russ giveth and Russ taketh. He shanked an uncontested dunk with his left hand during a quick 5-0 answer from Brooklyn, setting the stage for Denver’s second consecutive suspenseful finish.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Peyton Watson a full participant in Nuggets practice for first time in 5 weeks

    Peyton Watson a full participant in Nuggets practice for first time in 5 weeks

    The Nuggets are getting close to having their top-nine rotation players healthy and available for the season-opener.

    Peyton Watson was a full participant in practice Sunday for the first time “in close to five weeks now,” coach Michael Malone said. The 22-year-old forward sustained a soft-tissue hamstring injury a few days before training camp, forcing him to miss all five of Denver’s preseason games.

    The Nuggets are still planning on Watson being available for opening night, Thursday at Ball Arena against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    “We’ll see how that injury and how that muscle reacts to what he did today,” Malone said Sunday. “Because tomorrow, the hope is to introduce some more things offensively. … I want to blow it out tomorrow. We’ll be on the main court, which will be nice to finally get on the main court and play, maybe, three or four 12-minute quarters. And the hope is that Peyton feels good enough to be able to get through at least some of those (quarters) tomorrow.”

    Watson, who was drafted 30th overall in 2022, played in 80 games for the Nuggets last season, averaging 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. His minutes declined in the second round of the playoffs as Malone felt a need to prioritize scoring and floor-spacing against the Timberwolves’ top-ranked defense. A 25% outside shooter during the regular season, Watson was often left open on the perimeter in each of the first two rounds.

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Nuggets vs. Thunder preseason observations: End of Denver’s bench struggles again in 4th loss

    Nuggets vs. Thunder preseason observations: End of Denver’s bench struggles again in 4th loss

    The Nuggets remain winless in preseason play with one game remaining after a 124-94 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at Ball Arena. The last chance to earn a win is Thursday in Minnesota.

    Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook were out this time for the Nuggets, leaving them with a cast of role players to fend off Oklahoma City’s full starting lineup — an inverse of Sunday’s game, when Denver ran the starters for three quarters against Phoenix’s bench.

    Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he had planned to rest Murray for this game even before his knee started bothering him Sunday while warming up.

    What awaits Strawther after outstanding preseason?

    Denver’s clear standout performers this preseason (other than the three-time MVP) have been Michael Porter Jr. and Julian Strawther, both of whom continued to carry the offense during the first-half minutes Tuesday. Strawther made his first five shots, including 3-pointers in rhythm, a driving floater and a couple of buckets in the lane, where he used his footwork or body to go up strong through traffic. He finished with 12 points.

    Most importantly in these four games, he is 8 for 18 from distance, where his teammates have struggled. Christian Braun, who’s expected to start at shooting guard over Strawther, is 1 for 13. That probably won’t change how the rotation will shake out, though.

    “Obviously it’s never going to be just about who’s playing better in a vacuum,” Malone said when asked about the position battle. “It’s always going to be about, yes, who’s playing well, but also who complements that unit. And right now to be honest, I think C.B. and Jamal and Michael and Aaron (Gordon) and Nikola, that’s a group that really complements each other well. I think (Russell Westbrook), when we get Peyton Watson back — and that’s been really hard for us, not to have Peyton — but I think Russ, Julian, Peyton, Dario (Saric) and whoever else, I think that’s a really good complementary group as well. But I will give Julian some more chances to get out there and start and play with that (starting) group.”

    Watson (hamstring) still hasn’t played this preseason, but Malone says the plan is to have him ready for the season opener next Thursday at Ball Arena.

    Nnaji puts together consecutive good games

    As frustrated as Malone was with his team’s collective performance against the Suns on Sunday, he pointed to Zeke Nnaji’s fourth-quarter minutes as one of the few positives.

    Nnaji earned a starting nod Tuesday and built on his productive outing with 11 points, three rebounds, two steals and three blocks, including one against Jalen Williams in space. There were occasional lapses, too — a ball-screen miscommunication leading to an easy dunk in the first half, a ball fake getting him to leave his feet for a blow-by in the second half — but the highlights should be a welcomed confidence boost. Nnaji’s form has looked smoother, too. He buried a couple of 3s Tuesday.

    Before opening tip, Malone gave a candid answer when asked if he believes Nnaji is better at the four or the five, speaking to the general skill set the coach wants to see from Nnaji.

    “I don’t get into all that. I think that’s a bunch of malarkey,” Malone said. “‘Are you a four or are you a five?’ In today’s NBA, you’re a big, you’re a small. … This is not 1980s where it’s three-out, two-in. Zeke’s a big. So go out there and play your game. I mean, is Dario Saric a center in anybody’s eyes? Well, he is for us. So yeah, the whole four (or) five thing, I just don’t really understand.”

    Bennett Durando

    Source link

  • Keeler: If Nuggets coach Michael Malone, Calvin Booth aren’t on same page, they’ll burn another year of Nikola Jokic’s MVP peak

    Keeler: If Nuggets coach Michael Malone, Calvin Booth aren’t on same page, they’ll burn another year of Nikola Jokic’s MVP peak

    Michael Malone didn’t just shorten his bench. He strangled it.

    Christian Braun played a valiant 20 minutes in that scarring, jarring Game 7, much of it spent badgering the heck outta Anthony Edwards. After that, though, the alms dwindled. Justin Holiday got nine minutes for the Nuggets; Reggie Jackson, five.

    The Timberwolves, meanwhile, received 22 minutes and 11 points from Naz Reid, a stretch-4-type post who gave Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic more real estate to defend. Nickeil Alexander-Walker played 17 minutes.

    Hindsight makes geniuses of us all, granted. But while Jokic huffed and Gordon puffed Sunday, Peyton Watson became more noticeable — by his absence. As Minnesota chipped away at a 20-point Nuggs lead, one of the best defenders on the roster was nowhere to be found.

    Now in a do-or-die, win-or-else Game 7, you could understand Malone’s reluctance to trust his second-year wing in a pinch. P-Swat was 0-for-7 from the floor in this series going into Sunday night. The Nuggets lined up the chess pieces as if they could afford only one true defense-first option down the stretch — and again, Braun brought plenty of juice.

    Malone said before Game 5 that this was about matchups, and that Minnesota’s defense demands shooters at every spot. That’s not in P-Swat’s arsenal right now, and Holiday brought flashes of brilliance, on the road, when Denver needed it most.

    Mind you, Watson also posted a plus-15.9 net rating over 23 minutes against the Wolves in a seeding showdown at Ball Arena last month, blocking six shots and grabbing four boards.

    Because as the eulogies are read and ballads sung and postmortems written about where a repeat run at an NBA title went sadly off the rails, P-Swat feels like something of a nexus point. Not just for what happened. But for where the Nuggets go from here. And how.

    Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth raised eyebrows this past October when he told The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor that he “want(s) dudes that we try to develop, and it’s sustainable. If it costs us the chance to win a championship (in 2024), so be it. It’s worth the investment. It’s more about winning three out of six, three out of seven, four out of eight than it is about trying to go back-to-back.”

    Booth walked back those comments (among others) later, but it sure did very neatly explain an off-season of attrition — no more Bruce Brown or Jeff Green, thanks CBA — that came on the heels of the first title in franchise history. If ’22-23 was the masterpiece, then ’23-24 would be the experiment. Namely, can we replace Brown and Green with kids and still reach the NBA Finals?

    Well, no. Heck, no. Not this year, at any rate.

    Booth’s stated masterplan was also curious given that Malone, a stickler for eternal verities such as defense and selflessness, suffers neither fools nor rookies gladly. If Malone doesn’t trust you, you don’t play. Period. The Minnesota series, which started with the Nuggets dropping Games 1 and 2 at home, threw development out a 35-story window.

    I’m not suggesting Malone and Booth aren’t on the same page here, although it’s fair to wonder. However, I would humbly advise the powers that be to pick a lane and stick with it going forward. For the window’s sake. For Joker’s sake.

    The MVP needs help. Now. Jokic, owner of the greatest hands in modern NBA annals, snatched 15 boards in the first half. He finished with 19. Following one misfire in the third quarter, what looked like four Minnesota bodies went up for the carom while No. 15 was stranded at the top of the arc. The Joker seemed positively crestfallen.

    Since April 1 through Game 7, the Big Honey logged 732 minutes in 19 games, or 38.5 per game. From April 1 through the end of the Suns series last spring, he’d played 467 minutes in 13 appearances (35.9 per tilt).

    The Nuggs danced with history last week. And landed on the wrong side of it, face-first. Malone’s had better days. He’ll have better ones in the future. But Game 7’s epic collapse felt an awful lot like coaching not to lose. Which, more often than not, gets you beat on this stage.

    The Wolves, meanwhile, were built by Tim Connelly to dethrone the dynasty he’d started in Denver. See KAT? See Ant, waving and mugging for the cameras? They’re the bar now.

    It’s on Booth and Malone to volley Connelly’s serve. Together. Because the Joker has a ton of MVP seasons left in him. But only so many springs of what-ifs. And only so many summers of doubt.

     

    Sean Keeler

    Source link