For years now, the Nuggets have been looking for an answer to their depth issues in the frontcourt. When Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon share the floor, Denver has one of - if not the - best big-man combination in the league. But when forced to rely on the backups, things have gone a bit off the rails.
The team has tried numerous different iterations, and lineup combos, and brought in different players to fill the void, but nothing has done the trick. This year has been no better; the team signed Dario Saric to play power forward and center but he has been brutally bad and looks washed up.
They drafted DaRon Holmes to take on a prominent bench role in the frontcourt, but Holmes tore his achilles in the first game of Summer League and was ruled out for the season. They’ve been forced to go back to the well and rely on bench minutes from dinosaur, DeAndre Jordan. DJ is doing his best and playing admirably, but he really shouldn’t be in a rotation for a serious team in 2025.
Zeke Nnaji playing his way into real minutes
But in recent weeks, the Nuggets finally seem to have found something that works and it’s an option that’s been there all along. Injuries forced Michael Malone’s hand a bit, but he decided to go back to a guy who had been buried on the bench, Zeke Nnaji.
Nnaji had a disastrous season last year and has been unplayable as a backup center in the NBA. But recently, Malone has been employing Nnaji at power forward and the results have been beautiful. Zeke gets to fly around on defense, showing he can guard out to the perimeter and also defend the rim.
His offensive game still needs polish, but he can knock down an open three and space the floor, which is a nice wrinkle and a different element that he brings. No other Nuggets big man has been able to do this effectively and it gives defenses something to think about.
Nnaji may be an option for playoff rotation
Once the playoffs actually begin and the rotations get trimmed, these backup minutes will be less of an issue, but the problem will still exist. Jokic and Gordon will have to sit for a few minutes a game and Malone will have to find a way to handle those stretches.
Nnaji isn’t a lock to be in the rotation every night, but he’s proven that he’s a capable option and if Malone needs to steal some minutes at power forward, Nnaji is clearly the man for the job.