Injuries for much of the season have impacted the Nuggets and created many tough situations. They haven’t had nearly enough opportunities to play with their entire rotation intact and it’s made for a real crunch down the stretch of the season. The team is going to have to use the last month or so of this season to iron things out and figure out what they’ll look like in the playoffs.
It’s not an easy task when players are constantly in and out of the lineup, as Julian Strawther is at the moment. But the rest of the team is mostly healthy and now is the time to lock in and try to make up for lost time and build chemistry and consistency.
But if there has been one positive takeaway from all the injuries, it is the play of guys who have been thrust into the lineup, specifically Zeke Nnaji. Nnaji showed promise in his first couple of seasons in the NBA, prompting Calvin Booth to give him a four-year, $32 million extension.
Nnaji’s 2023-24 season was so brutal that he fell completely out of Michael Malone’s rotation and coming into this season was thought of as little more than a bad contract the team would struggle to trade. Indeed, the Nuggets tried to move Nnaji before the deadline, but there were no takers with 3+ years left and Nnaji wasting away on the bench.
Zeke Nnaji has played his way into Nuggets’ playoff rotation
Then, in one of the most shocking twists of the season, with Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson on the shelf, the Nuggets were forced to turn back to Nnaji. And to everyone’s surprise, Nnaji has been a revelation, giving the team great minutes at power forward, providing some floor spacing on offense and excellent defense.
The team easily could have spiraled with their lack of depth due to these injuries, but Nnaji has been a savior of sorts. There’s nothing the Nuggets need more than defense and shooting, and for Nnaji to provide those things while giving them playable, versatile size, has been a massive boon.
He has gone from a complete nonfactor to someone who may actually be indispensable to the team and their playoff chances. We still haven’t seen exactly what it looks like when everyone is healthy, but these last 20 games of the regular season may be the best chance we get.
The Nuggets need to use these games to analyze how different lineups and rotations work and see what is their best strategy heading into the playoffs. But in a shocking turn of events, it would be a pretty massive surprise if Nnaji isn’t getting playoff minutes next month.