One of the biggest obstacles facing the Nuggets in the offseason was determining how to manage minutes when Nikola Jokic takes a rest. This is an issue that has plagued the team for years, and these small stretches when the three-time MVP sits have cost the team countless games.
The front office made multiple moves in the offseason, intending to tackle this problem, and through the first few months of the season, the moves have worked out. But now, as soon as Cam Johnson has gone out of the lineup with an injury, we have seen the non-Jokic minutes become a massive weakness again, almost immediately.
Johnson isn’t a center, or any kind of one-for-one replacement for Jokic, of course, but he’s a great connective piece on both ends who has been staggering his minutes and keeping the second unit humming.
Now, in the two games Johnson has missed, the Nuggets have gone -17 against the Magic over 11 minutes of a one-point loss, and -11 in 11 minutes in a tight, overtime win over the Timberwolves.
Nuggets must find ways to solve non-Jokic minutes
Unfortunately for the Nuggets, Johnson isn’t expected to return to the lineup for over a month, and the team is going to have to find a new way to survive these vital minutes without the Joker. Jonas Valanciunas was brought in to back up Jokic, and he has been a huge upgrade, but he’s struggling recently without as much fire around him in the second unit.
The Nuggets are hoping to have Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun back from their injuries by the end of this road trip, and that should certainly help, but it’s going to create a new challenge for David Adelman and his staff.
But even with Gordon coming back, it appears that the Nuggets simply need more size, as they’ve been rolling with Big Val and guards and wings quite frequently. Perhaps it’s time to get rookie DaRon Holmes involved and see what he can do. He’s known for athleticism and shot-blocking on defense, with floor spacing and all skills on offense.
It sounds crazy, but maybe Denver even dusts off Zeke Nnaji and sees what they can get from the 24-year-old stretch-big. There’s no clear solution, and frankly, there’s no guarantee that any of these ideas will work. But for now, the Nuggets have to figure out something, or they are going to be staring at this familiar problem for at least another month.