The Denver Nuggets are finding a bench identity

The Denver Nuggets have had a strong identity for a long time. Major injuries, like those to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. change what a team does but the Nuggets have continued to play hard-nosed, pass-first basketball.

It’s beautiful to watch when it’s clicking and especially with a player like Nikola Jokic at the helm, fans know that at any moment, we could see the greatest pass of all time. I swear I’ve said that to myself about ten times while watching Jokic play.

One major issue with the Denver Nuggets this season has been their bench play. While the starters have really come into their own (especially when throwing Bryn Forbes into the mix), this bench unit could never really hold onto leads.

It’s completely normal for the starters to outperform the starters (I mean, you’d really hope so) but if the bench is completely inept, you run into some major issues.

After the blowout win against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Nuggets starting unit of Monte Morris, Will Barton, Jeff Green, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic has played just over 514 minutes together and it outscoring opponents by 12.4 points.

Early in the season, Michael Malone was leaning too heavily on his starters. Malone even told Harrison Wind, DNVR in early November that Jokic will be worn down by Christmas if he keeps up this workload.

At the time, the Nuggets were floating around the .500 mark and in danger of falling to the play in tournament. Not that a play in berth is the worst thing in the world for this team, especially after missing both MPJ and Murray, but with an MVP playing his best basketball, you’d hope to secure a top-six seed.

Fast forward to today and the Denver Nuggets have all they need to win. Not only are the starters getting better with more reps, they bench is giving them adequate rest and even extending leads.

It’s even more remarkable given the fact that Monte Morris, a usual bench staple when Jamal is healthy, isn’t even there to keep the second unit steady.

The addition of DeMarcus Cousins has been a turning point for this bench. He’s playing better in recent games after a slow start to his Denver tenure, but his since pushes everything into place for the bench squad. Zeke Nnaji doesn’t have to defend the rim as much and can play the four, JaMychal becomes a situational four, adding size and toughness when needed and Malone doesn’t have to worry about playing smaller shooters on the perimeter.

This was on full display against the Trail Blazers as the Nuggets bench scored 76 points, led by Forbes’ 17.

When the Golden State Warriors were at their peak with Kevin Durant, they had an extremely potent bench squad with Shaun Livingston and David West. Both players were at the tail ends of their careers but in Oakland, they found their most efficient selves.

The two brought an identity to the second unit. On the offensive end, West and Livingston had an unbeatable two-man game that had both players working around dribble hand-offs in the high post. Both were lethal mid-range shooters and had enough talent in the post to bully smaller defenders.

It didn’t really matter who these two played with, they’d nearly always find an open man or a mismatch to abuse. It was almost as joyful to watch as the starting lineup which featured Hall of Famers in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and KD.

It also didn’t mean that coaches were constantly checking the time until they could bring the stars back in. If the Denver Nuggets can replicate this bench cohesion with their newfound unit, they could become an even bigger threat in the West.

When Jokic and Gordon sit, the Denver Nuggets take on a whole new identity. In the past, it wasn’t good. But now, with Cousins anchoring a sweet-shooting unit with Bones Hyland, Forbes, Austin Rivers, and others, it’s quickly becoming another tool in Malone’s belt.

What’s more, while Boogie and Forbes are free agents at the end of the season, re-integrating Murray and MPJ into the starting lineup will only make the bench unit more potent. Who knows, maybe this second unit could play as well as the Livingston-West lineups.