The Nuggets' playoff rotation was a bit up in the air, given injuries to Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson. Who would head coach David Adelman replace Nikola Jokic with in the non-Jokic minutes? Who would be forced out when Jones or Watson returned? We got some answers in the Nuggets' 116-105 Game 1 playoff victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jones' return to the lineup forced Julian Strawther out of the rotation. Strawther helped power the Nuggets to two critical wins as a starter when the team chose to rest its key rotation players before the playoffs began, preserving the Nuggets' 12-game winning streak and three-seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Strawther was a key reserve when the Nuggets hit a rough patch of injuries during the mid-point of the season as well. Head coach David Adelman had mentioned that when the team was healthy, someone would have to be "sacrificed," and it turned out to be Strawther.
Coach Adelman chose to go with Jonas Valanciunas at the top of the second and fourth quarters to replace Jokic. He co-existed with Jones, Bruce Brown, and Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench. Cam Johnson and Jamal Murray slipped back into the reserve unit rotation in the other spot.
Nuggets look to be set with nine or 10 with Watson
It's only one game, but you can lean into the box score and see by the minutes played how the rotation for this series could shake out if Watson misses more time.
Big Val played 7:54, and Jokic played 40:06. Valanciunas was the direct replacement for Jokic in Game 1. It was a tight seven-player rotation with Jones mostly spelling Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson in his 9:15 of court action. Brown and Hardaway both saw more than 20 minutes as the Nuggets leaned heavily on the starting unit overall.
If this setup is any indication, Jokic and Murray could be in for some heavy minutes during the playoffs. Murray hit 39:28, right behind Jokic for most minutes played.
When Peyton Watson returns, this could all change. Adelman has mentioned he's comfortable playing Watson at anything ranging from the primary ball handler on up to playing the five. That's Magic Johnson's level of flexibility. But Watson's health is up in the air.
At no point during Game 1 did the Nuggets feel overpowered. Slow to start, yes, but that's almost become a theme for the Nuggets this year, especially in matinee games.
They'll continue to lean heavily on Jokic and Murray. And it looks like they'll lean smaller, too. That could eventually push Big Val out when Watson returns.
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