All season long, the Nuggets have been plagued by a variety of issues. They didn’t shoot or make enough threes, they didn’t defend the perimeter, they didn’t protect the rim, they didn’t get any bench production, and on and on.
Ultimately, problems spilled through the entire organization and led to the shocking firings of head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth in the final week of the regular season. But every problem can really be traced back to the one underlying issue that causes all others: the team doesn’t have enough talent.
Sure, they have the best player in the league, Nikola Jokic. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are as reliable as can be when they’re out there. And Christian Braun has emerged as a rock-solid role player who can be trusted when the chips are down.
But beyond that, it’s pretty grim. Case in point, in just game one of the playoffs, David Adelman played just eight players. One of those was Jalen Pickett, who got just 4 minutes, and another was Peyton Watson, who played 14. After that, it was the five starters and Russell Westbrook playing an absurd amount of minutes.
Adelman cannot play his stars this much every game
This game did go to overtime, so there were some extra minutes, but still. This is only game one of what could be a long series and hopefully, a long playoff run. Jokic played 46 minutes, Murray was at 47, and Gordon and Braun each played 45. That’s not sustainable at all, and it’s going to catch up with the Nuggets if they continue to tempt fate.
Murray and Gordon have dealt with calf injuries recently, and both are one tweak away from missing the rest of this series - something Denver can ill-afford. But even if there’s no injury, this is just too much wear and tear; they are going to run out of gas at some point, and then the team is cooked.
Role players have to step up
One way or another, Adelman has to find some more minutes from his bench players. Watson may have been dealing with an ankle injury, but he has to play more. His defense can be a weapon in this series, and you can live with his open shots and cuts if he’s being active on offense.
Similarly, Pickett can have a longer leash as well. His first, brief playoff stint was ugly, but he proved himself down the stretch of the season. Adelman is going to have to get something out of him for the team to tread water. Westbrook came through with his 34 minutes, but that can’t be counted on every game either, and could just as easily sink the Nuggets in another game.
Finally, whatever was going on with Michael Porter Jr. in game one has to end. He played just 26 uneventful minutes and had his energy questioned after the game. He has to get involved and be aggressive early and often. This has been a core four of players all along, and Mike is a part of that; he needs to wake up and show up as a different player on Monday night.