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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.
Two-way watch
Adelman has given every indication that he wants to use the regular season to experiment and exhaust all stylistic options. That could include using two-way players (especially considering the 15th roster spot will likely remain vacant). One of his most telling rotation decisions so far has been his deployment of Spencer Jones ahead of certain players on the active roster, including DaRon Holmes II and Zeke Nnaji.
Jones has provided some excellent defensive possessions this month. But another two-way youngster who shares his last name stole the show Sunday. In a preseason game characterized by unusually high competitiveness from both teams, the score remained deadlocked with starters long gone in the fourth quarter. Then Curtis Jones went off for 11 points (three 3-pointers), allowing Denver to run away with the win. The Iowa State grad’s eye-popping range should make him useful for occasional regular-season minutes.
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Originally Published:
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Bennett Durando
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