Sunday’s game is far from meaningless for the Nuggets, but they’re certainly treating it that way, as they’ve made a clear commitment to prioritize rest and health. They take on the Spurs in the regular season finale, with a chance to clinch the 3-seed in the West, but they’re sitting Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Spencer Jones (okay, he’s actually hurt).
Nikola Jokic is questionable, but the assumption is that he’ll play the mandated 15 minutes to hit the 65-game mark for awards eligibility, then call it a night.
If Denver loses, and the Lakers beat the Jazz, they’ll fall from three to four, will face the Rockets instead of the Timberwolves in round one, almost certainly the Thunder in round two, and then quite possibly, the Spurs in the conference finals.Â
Nuggets sending out skeleton crew to face motivated Spurs
The Spurs would love to be on the opposite side of the bracket from the Nuggets and Thunder, so they’ll be motivated to win on Sunday, when they’ll be facing off against the Denver bench. The Nuggets may not have their top eight players, but there’s a chance that in the playoffs, they’ll have to dig a bit deeper into the bench at times.
Sunday marks an opportunity for the fringe rotation players to present one final case for David Adelman and his staff. The Spurs could easily be a playoff opponent, so while one game shouldn’t overshadow the 81-game sample size, a nice, lasting impression certainly couldn’t hurt either.
The Nuggets will likely be led on Sunday by Bruce Brown, Julian Strawther, Tyus Jones, Jalen Pickett, David Roddy, and Jonas Valanciunas. DaRon Holmes, Zeke Nnaji, Curtis Jones, and KJ Simpson could all factor into the mix in what should be a bizarre send-off to the regular season, but it’s that first group that can make an argument for being dusted off at some point in the playoffs.
Brown, Strawther, and Valanciunas could all factor into playoff rotation
And really, it comes down to Brown and Strawther as the final two guys. Bruce is a great connector and defender, while Strawther brings scoring and shooting. Both could fill an important role, but in a tough matchup, it’s not crazy to see one, or both, out of the rotation.Â
Brown seems slightly more stable, but he has seen his role shrink in some big games, and if his shot isn’t falling and teams start leaving him open, it could become an issue.
The other question is whether or not Adelman will play a backup center, or just roll with Gordon at the five for some small-ball minutes when Jokic sits. Valanciunas has looked unplayable at times, and there are clearly some rough matchups for him, but if he could buy them a few minutes a night, that would be great news for Joker and AG.
Again, this should mostly be decided and shouldn’t come down to one game, but if these guys go out and put on a convincing show against one of the league’s best teams, in their final audition, it’s going to be hard to ignore.