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

Denver Nuggets Bench Mob: Who Else Can Contribute?

After those guys, who else can help the undermanned Denver Nuggets keep their title hopes alive? JaVale McGee offers playoff experience, championship pedigree, and a whole lot of size and length, but head coach Mike Malone has only played the veteran in one of the past five games. McGee’s usage would seem to rely on matchups, so he could see added run against teams that rely on dominant big men, like the Jazz and Lakers.

Bol Bol is another big man that has not seen a ton of run recently, and considering the lack of mobility and versatility that Bol and McGee are offering at this point in their careers, it’s hard to play them alongside the plodding Jokic for any significant amount of game time.

Shaquille Harrison is really the only other guy on that bench that you could see having an impact for this team down the home stretch. Harrison barely played all year but has been seeing 16.6 minutes per game over the past five contests due to Denver’s sudden lack of depth. I don’t see any more help coming any time soon, so Harrison will have to pick up some slack.

The Nuggets shouldn’t be expecting much in terms of offensive production from Harrison, who is still improving his offensive arsenal, but he is all set and ready to be unleashed on defense. He’s a pest that hustles on the defensive end much like Campazzo, except this pest is 6’4″, not 5’10”.

It’s a small sample size, but Harrison played such tough and hounding defense during the 2019-2020 season that he was third (2.99) behind only Patrick Beverley and Kris Dunn on ESPN’s defensive real plus-minus rankings. If Rivers can find his shooting stroke, he and Harrison could form a solid offense/defense pairing off the bench moving forward.