David Adelman is still sorting through the Denver Nuggets’ second unit, and the final shape of that group has become one of the main preseason questions with two exhibition games left and nine days to go before the regular season opener.
After Tuesday’s practice, the Nuggets coach said he is focused on the bench rotation and does not want to pair a starter with the second unit if he can avoid it to open the year.
"I'll be honest, right now, I'm trying to figure out our secondary rotation," Adelman said. "...
The starters will be fine. I do not want to play a starter with the second unit if I don't have to to start the season.
That's the goal right now."
That leaves Denver trying to lock in the right mix around what appears to be a core bench group. DeMar DeRozan, Spencer Jones, and Marvin Bagley III seem to be fixtures with the reserves, while Tyus Jones has also emerged as an important piece as the backup ball-handler.
Adelman pointed to the final preseason games as a chance to identify who stands out and how the pieces fit together.
"I think you're looking for bright spots. I thought Bryce [Hopkins] and Alpha [Diallo] were pretty good in the last game," Adelman said.
"But you have to complement that with guys you can run offense through. I think that's going to be the balancing act for us.
DeMar [DeRozan]'s gonna play, and what do you put around him?"
The bigger question is how Denver builds the best lineup around DeRozan, who will handle a bench role for the first time in his career this season. Adelman said he is weighing different combinations and trying to decide whether the second unit should lean more defensive or more offensive.
"When Spencer [Jones] comes back, is it three defensive players with two offensive players? Do you go Tyus [Jones] and Marvin [Bagley] in pick-and-roll, and DeMar's your isolation guy?
And then you have to decide: does Julian [Strawther] complement those guys the best? Do you want a defensive player out there?
So we're going through all those paces right now as a coaching staff," he said.
Strawther had looked like the natural answer as the backup wing next to DeRozan, but Alpha Diallo, Cam Whitmore, and Bryce Hopkins have all put themselves into the mix. Diallo gives the Nuggets a defensive option they may want on the floor, while Whitmore offers rim pressure and athleticism that could help the bench attack.
For now, the Nuggets have more options than they expected, and that has turned a presumed clean-cut rotation into a tougher puzzle for Adelman to solve.
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For a team trying to balance rotation fit with cap realities, the backup five spot has become more than a lineup detail. Nnajis contract situation already puts him in the middle of trade talk, and when a preseason audition opens the door for another option to look sturdier, the Nuggets cannot really treat it as a throwaway storyline anymore. [Read more 🡒]