Denver Nuggets: Who will make a splash off the bench in 2018-19?
After a solid off season, the Denver Nuggets are looking at a much-improved bench. Last year’s second-unit was best known for losing traction while starters sat.
Denver Nuggets
This season’s pine consists of former MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas, and Rookie-of-the-Year dark horse Michael Porter Jr.
Solid contributors Trey Lyles, Mason Plumlee and Torrey Craig will also play an impactful role.
Bottom line…expect a performance hike.
In this article, we’ll examine the projected bench roles. This year’s pine theme involves higher expectations.
Coach Malone will tolerate less of Plumlee’s bricks and Torrey’s hesitation. Beasley and Hernangomez will rarely see the floor without increased production.
Denver’s bench is deep and talented. The stakes have risen. Perform…or someone else will.
It’s an exciting time for the Mile High.
Big Minutes-
Sixth Man: Isaiah Thomas (25-30 min)
Denver signed the former MVP candidate in a low-key manner. However, when the season kicks off, Thomas will be anything but.
Isaiah averaged nearly 29 ppg just 15 months ago. Thomas’ time with the Celtics was a wild display of his true capabilities.
Even during his “down” year in 2017-18, IT performed well in 15 games with the Lakers’ second-unit. He posted 20+ points six times in that short span.
Isaiah will essentially take Barton’s role, as “Thrill” moves to the starting lineup. Because Barton averaged 33 minutes last year (ESPN), it is reasonable to expect Isaiah will occupy similar minutes.
This second-unit role is swell for Thomas, because he’ll hold the keys to the offense. With Jokic out of the game, Isaiah will serve as primary play maker.
Second highest minutes: Trey Lyles (18-20 min)
Trey Lyles is a candidate to break out. Last year, Lyles hit double-figures 38 times in 73 games. Trey could be an elite contributor for the Nuggets, if given the court time.
Last year, Lyles posted two intangibles worth noting.
The first stat: When Trey played under 15 minutes, he posted just 2.8 ppg. However, in 15+ minutes, Lyles’ production skyrocketed to 12.4 ppg (ESPN). Meanwhile, when Trey played 25+ minutes, he averaged 17.0 points and 7.4 rebounds (NBA).
The second stat: Lyles quietly proved his defensive stealth last season. According to Chris Dempsey’s article (an excellent analyst, by the way), opponents shot just 30.5 percent in pick-and-roll situations when Trey played the big defender. Additionally, Lyles held opponents to 33.9 percent in spot-up shooting situations, demonstrating his sneaky-quick athleticism.
Expect Trey to steal a few defensive minutes from Plumlee. Both are good defenders, but TL is much better offensively (and developing at a faster rate). As a result, Lyles will see more consistent minutes, helping him level out performance-wise. Expect regular double-figure scoring for Trey this year.
Consistent appearances but varying minutes-
Third highest: Mason Plumlee (10-15 min)
Plumlee will regularly see the court as Denver’s eighth man. He will play on the nightly, anchoring the paint on defense.
Mason is a decent rim-protector (1.1 bpg, ESPN) and has his moments offensively around the hoop. Unfortunately, he can’t hit an ocean with his clunky shooting-touch (45.8 FT%).
Plumlee can anticipate a slight drop in minutes for two reasons: a) franchise center Nikola Jokic is one year wiser, and will see increased minutes, and b) Trey Lyles keeps progressing, and will steal several ticks from Mason.
The bench standard has heightened. Plumlee will play his same role for Denver and prove effective in it. This will translate to slightly less minutes in 2018-19, however.
Fourth highest: Michael Porter Jr (10-15 min)
Here’s a thrilling topic for Nuggets fans. What can we expect from Michael Porter Jr’s rookie season?
Coach Malone will develop Porter in similar fashion to Jamal Murray’s first year. Not every moment will sail smoothly, but the season will ultimately render itself successful.
Everyone knew Jamal would be special. Even though opportunities weren’t always aplenty, a concerted effort was made for Murray. Some games, Jamal played under eight minutes…but he still took the court. Other games saw him ellipse 25 points.
Michael Porter Jr’s development will constantly occupy Malone’s mind. When healthy, MPJ should see the floor every game. Some situations will warrant high minutes. Hopefully Porter can capitalize. Other games will provide barely a warm-up.
Porter’s rookie-year will experience its ups-and-downs. Ultimately, he will post enough high-caliber games to prove this year a success, however.
Varies by game-
Fifth highest: Torrey Craig (10-15 min)
Torrey Craig’s 2018-19 projection is an interesting case. Honestly, he’s a wild card of sorts. His defense is among the squad’s best. At this point, however, his offense leaves much to be desired.
Craig can anticipate big minutes at times. When Denver faces Durant, LeBron or Paul George…TC will be deployed plentifully for lock-up duty.
Other games, Torrey will rack up little-to-no time. Craig is not yet a reliable source offensively. His 23 ppg average in the G-League demonstrates potential, however.
With Denver’s offensive firepower, Malone won’t exactly draw plays for Craig. Torrey’s best chance is to cut hard, capitalizing on Jokic’s superb passing. Easy buckets off Jokic dimes will translate into more time for Craig.
If TC develops into a savvy two-way player, he can expect consistently high minutes. It may not happen this year, however.
Inconsistent: The rest (0-10 min)
Malik Beasley continues to dominate Summer Leagues, and then produce nothing past October. A natural athlete with a workout-warrior attitude, Malik leads this group in likeliness to crack the rotation.
Juan Hernangomez is an excellent shooter with strong footwork. Rotation-wise, he is stuck behind a deep front court. A disappointing 2017-18 campaign didn’t help his cause.
Monte Morris turned heads with strong G-League and summer play. He will receive ample minutes in case of injury. Otherwise, he is stuck behind Murray and Isaiah Thomas.