Denver Nuggets: Is this the start of a breakout for Bol Bol?

Since being drafted in the second round by the Denver Nuggets, Bol Bol has spent much of his time on the bench and in the few minutes he plays, the game is well and truly finished.

Michael Malone, since taking the Nuggets into the Western Conference’s elite, has run a short rotation and has preferred to play established veterans over unproven younger players.

Before Monday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the rotation reflected that. When Nikola Jokic was on the bench, either Jeff or JaMychal Green took on the responsibility of backup center with Aaron Gordon sliding down in spot minutes.

In the matchup against the Indiana Pacers, where Jokic sat with his one-game suspension, Bol received a DNP-CD as Malone decided to run with Zeke Nnaji.

Against Dallas, a team that likes to play with two traditional big men under Jason Kidd, Bol Bol came in during the first quarter and played well.

To start off the second quarter, Bol met Frank Ntilikina at the rim, swatting his shot away and then ran down the court for a wide-open dunk in transition.

It was the perfect way to build his confidence after getting earlier-than-expected playing time.

Bol Bol finished the night with seven points on 3-5 shooting alongside two rebounds and the one block. His only two misses were two 3-pointers but neither were bad shots.

Outside of his physical gifts, Bol Bol can bring some ‘unicorn’ traits to the Denver Nuggets.

No, nobody really uses the term ‘unicorn’ anymore since positional skillsets are more of a suggestion in today’s NBA, but it was nice to see him show off what he can do against the very first unicorn; Kristaps Porzingis:

He played sparingly in the second half and finished the night with a -9 plus/minus, but it’s promising. The 7-foot-2 big out of Oregon was able to do something out there and didn’t look lost on offense.

The other side of the ball was a different story.

Yes, his frame is going to make Bol Bol an instant rim protector if he can use it properly, but if opposing teams ask him to defend on the perimeter, it’s a different story.

Jalen Brunson, one of Dallas’ best guards, must have been licking his lips seeing Facundo Campazzo defending him with Bol behind him as he waltzed in for a wide-open mid-range shot:

You could make the argument that it’s Campazzo’s fault for simply watching Brunson dribble past him, but all 7-foot-2 of Bol couldn’t impact the shot at all.

And on a Tim Hardaway Jr. post up, Bol is lurking around the free throw line to help, something JaMychal Green was clearly already doing:

He was able to get a hand up to Dorian Finney-Smith on the kick out, but Green already had it covered, leaving Bol in no man’s land as his own man was in great positioning to get the offensive rebound.

Is this the start of a breakout for Bol Bol? Honestly, yes. If not for the on-court play and excitement on offense, it’s the start of something for Bol Bol as it shows that Michael Malone trusts him to be out there, inserting him in the first quarter.

The Denver Nuggets guaranteed his contract this past offseason, taking him off two-way status despite not showing anything outside of garbage. Tim Connelly and the front office gave up a roster spot to keep him, so it was only a matter of time before he found himself on the court.

As other bigs on the roster rest games (or get suspended), there will be more opportunities like these for Bol Bol, hopefully, he can string together some solid showings on both sides of the floor and finally have a shot in the league.