Friday night's game versus the Golden State Warriors was a backbreaking loss, and it feels like any trace of good vibes that still remained on this Nuggets roster has evaporated.
Almost everyone except for Nikola Jokic was bad in Denver's lackluster loss to Steph Curry and the rejuvenated Warriors. But one guy in particular was downright awful.
Russell Westbrook somehow managed to put up his worst performance as a Denver Nugget, riding a wave of bad decision-making momentum after his costly blunders earlier in the week versus Minnesota. Whether it was out-of-control turnovers or ill-advised jump shots, Russell Westbrook's performance was a complete eye-sore.
After another brutal loss that has Denver flirting with the play-in, an interesting trend emerged.
Jalen Pickett finally got more minutes than Russ
Nuggets fans have been clamoring for Michael Malone to reel back Westbrook's minutes, and instead give more run to second-year guard Jalen Pickett, who epitomizes everything Russell Westbrook doesn't: control, shooting, IQ, and poise.
Nuggets fans may be starting to get their wish. In the Warriors loss, Pickett played 29 total minutes, and Westbrook only played 20.
Even more interesting is that those minutes came in a game where Jamal Murray didn't even play. Earlier in the season, Westbrook often started for Denver when Murray sat and played heavy minutes. Now? Not only is the Russell Westbrook marriage out of the honeymoon stage, but it appears Westbrook might be soon sleeping on the couch. Which raises the question: Could Westbrook be benched entirely in the playoffs?
Malone might be finally giving up on Westbrook
One of the biggest traits you would want in a backup point guard is limiting mistakes. The Nuggets are never going to be good with Jokic on the bench, but they can't turn the ball over in the six to eight minutes he'll sit every game in the playoffs.
Russell Westbrook is a turnover machine, and he had four of them again versus the Warriors. Jalen Pickett? He had zero.
According to Basketball Reference, Jalen Pickett averages only 1.3 turnovers per 36 minutes. Westbrook on the other hand averages a glaring 4.2 turnovers per 36. That might not seem like a big difference, but as we saw versus the Wolves last week, games can and will be decided by the smallest of margins.
Combine that with the fact that Pickett is shooting nearly seven percent better from three-point land, and it's clear that Malone has a much better option to run his bench unit.
Here's the issue: NBA players aren't robots. They are human beings with emotions who often carry massive egos. Michael Malone might not be JJ Reddick or Eric Spoelstra when it comes to X's and O's, but he's no idiot.
The only reason Westbrook wasn't benched for Pickett two months ago is because of the effect it might have on Denver's locker room.
While an older Russ has accepted a role as a bench guard, would he accept a role living on the bench next to Vlatko Cancar and Deandre Jordan? It's easy to say Malone should bench Westbrook entirely, and he probably should. But what ripple effect would that have if he benched the guy Calvin Booth brought in to bring edge and hunger to a team that appears to have become complacent after the 2023 title?
Team chemistry is a delicate matter. How toxic would the vibes become if one of the Nuggets' veteran vocal leaders was pouting in the corner? Hard to say. But after seeing the Nuggets body language versus Golden State, it can't get much worse. Hopefully, Michael Malone realizes what to do before it's too late.