The Nuggets have still only played two preseason games as they get a full week off after their trip to Abu Dhabi. There were many takeaways from the games; some that may be instructional for the regular season, and some that may not.
One interesting tidbit from the second game was the starting lineup as the Nuggets trotted out Jamal Murray, Julian Strawther, Christian Braun, Vlatko Cancar, and Nikola Jokic. Much has been made about the Nuggets losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the offseason.
Everyone knew that KCP’s exit would lead to a new starting lineup for Denver and there has been much speculation about which player would enter the starting lineup. The most common assumption was that Christian Braun would step in and fill that spot and this still feels like a possibility.
However, the insertion of Strawther and Cancar is notable as well. Now, this should all be taken with a huge grain of salt because Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon didn’t play in the game. Those two will obviously be starters once the regular season begins, so their absence opened up three spots in the lineup from last year’s playoff team.
5th starter could be Braun or Strawther
I think it’s safe to say that Cancar won’t be a starter once the season begins, he was pretty clearly just filling in for Gordon as the starting power forward. But the battle for the fifth spot between Strawther and Braun.
Braun appeared to be the clear choice to get the first crack at the job. Positionally, he fits well as a big, athletic wing who has shown some chops on the defensive end. He has knocked down threes at a pretty solid clip but will need to up his volume and keep strong efficiency.
But there’s another line of thinking that maybe Braun would be better suited keeping his sixth-man role and mixing his pace and transition skills with Russell Westbrook. At the same time, that could get one of the Nuggets’ best volume shooters, Strawther, into the lineup.
Strawther should see a steady diet of open shots and can focus on his best skills. There’s a case to be made that his insertion into the starting lineup could improve the rotations and lineups throughout the game. But we’ve got a long way to go and three more preseason games to figure that out and determine if Strawther is up to the task.