For all the noise surrounding what the Denver Nuggets' depth could look like this season, and there's a lot of it, it may not be that bad if the Nuggets can avoid the injury bug that bit the team last season. As long as everyone is healthy and the rotation is stable, there's one second unit lineup that head coach David Adelman absolutely has to try out. Because it actually sounds like something that could be leaps and bounds better than what they had last year.
Last year, it was sixth man Tim Hardaway Jr. coming off the bench, followed by Bruce Brown and Jonas Valanciunas, plus whatever combination of players Adelman could wrangle together who weren't already covering someone from the starting lineup. It wasn't pretty because of injuries. But those three are now gone, and three new faces in the rotation could be a solid upgrade for the Nuggets.
This second unit lineup could be really good if the idea gels
The Nuggets have DeMar DeRozan to take over as the sixth man off the bench for Hardaway, but he should actually be coming off the bench to take over for Jamal Murray. DeRozan can play the point guard distributor/ball-handler role in the Nuggets' offense with no problem. He's an underrated passer, and he's built for the slower pace of the Nuggets' offense.
Next to him should be Julian Strawther, who everyone is hoping will make a leap forward this season. Strawther is an excellent three-point shooter who can get downhill to the rim when needed, and his floater in the paint might be the second-best on the team behind Nikola Jokic.
The defense in the backcourt would be rough, to be sure, but that can be covered by the rookie defensive ace Alpha Diallo, the reigning EuroLeague Best Defender. He's athletic and can cover the opposing team's best player 1 through 4 with ease, so at least that poor backcourt defense has some good help. Offensively, he can use his high basketball IQ to pick his spots to cut and slash for a finish at the rim, which he excels at.
In the frontcourt, the Nuggets would have Spencer Jones reprising his role as the small four. But he's physical and tough, and his defense is more than capable inside, especially against other bench fours. Plus, he spreads the floor with his three-point shot. Jones hit 39.6% of his threes last season.
Next to him, new addition Marvin Bagley III would spell Jokic. Bagley is an excellent finisher at the rim, having shot 64.1% from inside the arc last season, while also spreading the floor with a developing three-point game. Bagley is much more athletic and mobile than Valanciunas was, which should help some of the problems the non-Jokic minutes faced last year.
Honestly, that lineup doesn't sound too bad at all. And Adelman shouldn't be afraid to try it out to see what comes of it, because it just might surprise a lot of people.
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