What a difference a couple of days make, right? Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman proclaimed that he wanted to try out an all-bench second unit to start the season, rather than staggering some starters with them. But after one game of trying that out, he should act like Marvin the Martian and go back to the drawing board. And he should definitely avoid using the same lineup that he tried to end the first quarter of the Nuggets' 122-110 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the fourth game of the preseason.
Their defense was non-existent, and they coughed up a nine-point lead in the blink of an eye. Tyus Jones, Julian Strawther, Cam Whitmore, Trevon Brazile, and Marvin Bagley II looked terrible together in their first foray as a bench unit. Sure, the lack of preparation time playing together probably had a lot to do with it, but the general lack of defense made it noticeable that Alpha Diallo wasn't a part of the group.
They had a terrible plus/minus for the game, with Whitmore and Brazile at -21, Bagley at -15, Strawther at -14, and Jones at -12. Let's not try that lineup out again, Adelman.
The Nuggets need Alpha Diallo to anchor the second unit
It wasn't an offensive problem. Whitmore had 17 points, and Brazile looked like an offensive weapon, scoring 22 points with numerous dunks and going 3-for-4 from downtown. The problem was clearly with the defense. This was the first time that Adelman didn't use Diallo in the second unit in the past couple of games, and it was clearly noticeable.
Diallo's plus/minus was just -1 over the 13 minutes he was on the court, which was obviously much better than the other second unit members. If anything, it should really show Adelman that Diallo, who's been a standout of training camp so far for his defensive skills, really needs to be on the second unit.
The second unit just needs a different look
Adelman can't throw that same lineup out on the court again. Bagley's fine on defense, but he needs help, and that comes from Diallo. When the Nuggets use DeMar DeRozan with the second unit, the defense will take a hit, so you have to use Diallo to help him and Strawther out. Plus, Spencer Jones has been out of the lineup, and the second unit missed his hustle and defense as well.
Unfortunately, Strawther went down with a nasty-looking knee injury that could put him out for a period of time. We still don't know the severity, but it opens up the rotation spot for Diallo. So Adelman needs to go with Tyus, DeRozan, Diallo, Spencer, and Bagley as the second unit to test next (once Spencer is healthy). And if it doesn't work? Welp, back to the stagger with a starter it is.
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