What the Denver Nuggets learned from an embarrassing Opening Night loss?

The Denver Nuggets rotation is nowhere near finalized

The Denver Nuggets made a lot of roster changes this past offseason and while there will naturally be a feeling-out process and Michael Malone figures out who to trust, we know that what we saw on opening night isn’t the answer.

Bruce Brown was the first player off the bench, subbing in for Jamal Murray who was going to be on a minutes limit following a preseason injury. Brown, who signed for a portion of the mid-level exception this past offseason, is definitely in the Denver rotation, but the rest of the minutes… who knows.

Before the season started, plenty of writers here at Nugg Love believed that this is the season for Zeke Nnaji to garner serious minutes. The addition of DeAndre Jordan this offseason was heavily criticized but a potential saving grace was that he was just a chemistry addition. That’s not the case as DJ was the main option behind Jokic and Zeke didn’t touch the floor.

Additionally, Bones Hyland, my pick for Sixth Man of the Year, wasn’t the first guard off the bench as Malone decided to go for defense when he looked down the bench. Bones finished the game with just over 16 minutes but on a night when the main guard creator, Jamal Murray, isn’t playing up to his standard, it’d be worth giving Hyland more of a run and potentially cutting down on Davon Reed and Brown’s minutes.

It’s the first game of the season and if the Nuggets didn’t have any rotational issues, it might be more concerning (and less fun). There’s plenty of time to find the right mix of offense and defense, on opening night, the Nuggets couldn’t find it.