Denver Nuggets: 3 things to watch for on opening night
By Sean Carroll
Denver Nuggets: Who’s backing up Nikola Jokic?
The Denver Nuggets made the bold decision not to go after a traditional center in free agency. Instead of trying to replace Mason Plumlee with Isaiah Hartenstein or re-signing Paul Millsap to play at the five, the Nuggets signed small-ball center Jeff Green.
In his single season with the Brooklyn Nets, Jeff Green played 44 percent of his minutes at the center spot per Basketball-Reference and that figure jumped up to 81 percent in the playoffs.
He’s able to play the five in very specific situations and was excellent as a closer for the Nets when playing next to their big three. But the Denver Nuggets have an MVP at the center spot and will finish every single game with Nikola Jokic at the five.
What the Nuggets need is someone to come in when Jokic sits. Is Green going to play small-ball center primarily as a backup to throw opposing teams off their guard? It might work on opening night, but if Michael Malone sticks with it, teams will just learn to match their small lineups when Jokic sits.
Can one of the younger players come in as the backup center? Right now, Bol Bol and Zeke Nnaji are on the outside of the rotation looking in and while Bol had an outstanding Summer League campaign, it wasn’t in a similar role.
On opening night, the backup big roles are likely a combination of JaMychal and Jeff Green. With a first-round pick invested in Nnaji, it’s extremely unlikely the Nuggets don’t invest playing time into him this season, but likely not on opening night.
It’s quite poetic that the big man the Nuggets let walk in free agency, JaVale McGee, will be the backup for the Phoenix Suns on opening night. Will the decision to let the traditional centres walk on be a mistake? We’ll get a glimpse on opening night.