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Denver Nuggets: How each unit of the bench mob is keeping NBA Finals hopes alive

By Alex Murray

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 01: PJ Dozier #35 of the Denver Nuggets handles the ball during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on April 01, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 01: PJ Dozier #35 of the Denver Nuggets handles the ball during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on April 01, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
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Denver Nuggets, Austin Rivers
Denver Nuggets, Austin Rivers (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images) /

Denver Nuggets Bench Mob: Austin Rivers, The Hired Gun

When Jamal Murray went down, Austin Rivers’ name was floated as a possible addition, but it wasn’t until Monte Morris joined the Blue Arrow on the disabled list that the Denver Nuggets got serious about the sharpshooter. They signed him to a 10-day and are likely to sign him to another one as they attempt to replace some of that offensive killer mentality that the Nuggets lost with Murray’s ACL tear.

When you talk about streaky shooters, you’re talking Mr. Rivers. The guy can go completely unconscious at times (mostly against the Jazz) but can go cold as the peak of Mount Evans at just as easily. Since arriving in Denver, it has mostly been cold-Rivers, with the veteran putting up 5.2 points per game on 35 percent from the field and 17 from beyond the arc.

That’s not exactly an encouraging sample size, but if you go back and look at his two explosions for the Knicks this season, you can’t help but get excited for when he does that kind of thing in Nuggets threads. On January 6th, Rivers came in for the Knicks late in the fourth quarter of a tight game with the Jazz, and the reserve proceeded to put in 14 straight points to help defeat the best team in basketball.

Watching that performance, you would’ve thought that Rivers had been in some sort of Freaky Friday-type incident where he switched bodies with Steph Curry, but Rivers promptly went silent for the next eight games… until New York took on the Jazz again. This time, Rivers started the game by going 10/10 from the field in the first half, including five threes.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1354262080086368260?s=20

It seems like the Nuggets are going to need at least a couple of outbursts like that from Rivers in the playoffs for the team to make a serious playoff run. It doesn’t hurt that, much like Murray, the guy he was brought in to replace, Rivers seems to have a thing for going nuclear against the Jazz, who could very well be a postseason matchup for the Nuggets.

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