One of the biggest weaknesses season after season for the Denver Nuggets has been the non-Nikola Jokic minutes. They're not just a little weakness. They're pretty much the Nuggets' Achilles ' heel. But in the Nuggets' second preseason game against the Utah Jazz, the second unit looked great. Could this finally be the year the non-Jokic minutes turn things around? I think so.
Over the past five seasons, the Nuggets have had a positive 10.8 net rating with Jokic on the floor, and a negative 7.5 net rating when he's on the bench. The second units haven't had much defense, and they've mostly missed offense, too. But that problem looks like it could finally be behind the Nuggets thanks to the revamped bench unit that head coach David Adelman has begun to use.
The new faces have all the right tools to succeed this time
One thing the Nuggets didn't have last year in the non-Jokic minutes was defense. Jonas Valanciunas would come in for Jokic, and leads would be lost. But the new backup center, Marvin Bagley III, is much more mobile and athletic. He's also a much better defender than Valanciunas, and in the Nuggets' 117-106 victory over the Jazz, Bagley had a plus/minus of 15, which was the highest on the team. Bagley scored 10 points on a highly efficient 4-for-5 shooting in 15 minutes and added a steal and a block defensively.
And speaking of defense, the Nuggets finally have a true ace on that side of the ball with Alpha Diallo. Diallo was described as a "menace" by his teammate, Cameron Johnson, during training camp. Diallo lived up to that billing against the Jazz. He's been terrorizing their guards with his full-court press, and his ability to navigate screens like a wizard has been really fun to watch. He's certainly doing his best to get into the second unit, and at this point, Adelman would be a fool not to deploy Diallo every game.
The non-Jokic minutes can score points, too
Diallo also showed his 3-and-D wing ability by knocking down both of the threes he attempted, finishing with 8 points despite going 0-for-4 from the free-throw line. Those will come around.
The other bright spot was Julian Strawther. Strawther has always had some offensive firepower, but he's been stuck behind veterans in front of him on the depth chart. Not this year. Strawther looks to be taking the leap the team needs him to take. Strawther put up 15 and had a plus/minus of 13. He connected on 3 of his 4 three-point shots, and if the leap is real, the second unit could be really, really good.
Tyus Jones pitched in 6 assists running the second unit, and I haven't even mentioned DeMar DeRozan, who's going to be the sixth man off the bench.
Maybe it's early optimism. But the Nuggets' non-Jokic minutes look better than they have in a long time. If the second unit can close the gap behind Jokic, the Nuggets will be a lot more dangerous than they're getting credit for.
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