Grading the Denver Nuggets’ most-used lineups in 2022-23 season
By Alexandros Tsakos
The Nuggets’ most-used five-man lineup includes Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon, and Bruce Brown with that combination of players remaining on the floor for 280 minutes so far this season.
As of now, the pairing of KCP and Brown in the perimeter does not produce the type of numbers we were expecting on the defensive end at this point in the season. However, the two-man game of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in addition to the career-year Aaron Gordon is having has been destructive for their opponents.
This lineup is producing an offensive rating of 121.8, while allowing 112.6 points on the other end, per NBA.com. Denver is also ranked 13th in defensive advanced stats, and they are the clear-cut first in offensive rating with those players on the floor.
Simply put, the Denver Nuggets have been vastly outscoring opponents when they have their most-used lineup on the floor, with this group carrying a plus/minus net rating of 9.0. Therefore, the Nuggets are expected to continue using that lineup if it remains so effective on the offensive end.
In addition, it’s important to keep in mind that Jamal Murray has not been the best version of himself so far this year after missing more than a season because of injury. He has started to put together good individual performances, but he will need more time to regain his pre-injury form.
The good news is that this five-man rotation has the potential to get even better over the course of the regular and postseason. Moreover, as Murray continues to become more comfortable within the rotation, Michael Malone will have more flexibility to use several variations of this lineup going forward.