The Nuggets are in the middle of a six-game winning streak. They've got most of the roster back, and head coach David Adelman has had to and will continue to adjust the rotation until everyone is healthy. But one adjustment he needs to make is to use more of a lineup combination that has such a good plus/minus rating that it's impossible to miss.
The combination of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Peyton Watson has only played a collective 60 minutes together this year, and they've got a plus-45 in those 60 minutes. Over a full game, that group with whoever you stack into the fifth slot is going to have a chance to blow everyone out.
Zach Lowe was right to point the stat out on the latest "The Zach Lowe Show." It's a lineup combination you can actually see make a difference when they're on the court together.
This is a group that plays some exceptional defense
Everybody knows that the Nuggets have the league's top-ranked offense. They have an offensive rating of 120.7.
But you're not getting to plus 45 without some defense, and that's what Peyton Watson and Aaron Gordon both bring back to the Nuggets. Denver missed both of their presences for an extended period of time while they recovered from hamstring injuries.
Watson provides length and speed on the wing and in the post. Coach Adelman described him as a "Swiss-Army knife," and said he's even prepared to use Watson at the five. He's versatile, and together with Gordon, who's impossible to push around, they provide a base to move around the Joker, who's been noticeably slower on defense since returning from his own 16 game absence from a knee injury.
It's an offense that's hard to stop
Back to the offense. You're not getting to plus 45 without scoring some serious points over 60 minutes. Over 30, that's plus 22.5, and we'll take a 22 or 23 point margin over that stretch of a game every single time.
It's a lineup with three players who scored 50 points or more this year in Gordon, Murray, and Jokic. And three have won the NBA Player of the Week award this year: Murray, Jokic, and Watson.
We all know what Jokic does. He's having the best season he's ever had statistically, and he's still showing nightly why he's the best basketball player in the world. The X-factor to this lineup is Watson.
Watson averaged 21.9 points for the Nuggets in January, and he's already got a 21-point game against the Mavericks under his belt, only four games into his return.
David Adelman needs to lean into this lineup more. Put Tim Hardaway Jr. in with them, Cam Johnson, or Christian Braun. This could be the Nuggets' championship lineup. Let's see more of it as we head into the playoffs; it's impossible to ignore.